


The Nightmare Before Hootyween at the Owlless House

by disneydork, holographicbubbles



Series: Hooty [1]
Category: Frozen (Disney Movies), The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: (for the owl house‚ it should be compliant for frozen), Cursed, Elsamaren Halloween, F/F, Slight Canon-Divergence, Some Fluff, Sorry Not Sorry, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, What the hell did we write, Why did we write this?, crackfic, this is a JOKE don't go in expecting proper grammar or punctuation, this is probably the most cursed thing ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27036616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disneydork/pseuds/disneydork, https://archiveofourown.org/users/holographicbubbles/pseuds/holographicbubbles
Summary: “Oh good!” King sighed with relief, allowing himself to plop on the ground. His back came in contact with the ground and he stared up at Eda through the skull that covered his face. “So where’d you poof him off to?”“I dunno,” the witch shrugged and picked at her tooth with a long fingernail. "Hopefully somewhere he can scar some juveniles for life… Or at least for a few months.”some authors give you scary stories. but us? we give you HOOTYand he is scarier, we know (:
Relationships: Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney), Everyone & Everyone
Series: Hooty [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050530
Comments: 20
Kudos: 19





	The Nightmare Before Hootyween at the Owlless House

**Author's Note:**

> it's not our fault if your brain becomes contaminated with hooty and he's the only thing you think about for a month
> 
> but it is Ravrav's fault for suggesting this in the first place.
> 
> sooooo we wrote for like. seven hours straight. to finish this??? last night. please help us

“HMM-MMM HMMMMMMM-MMMMM HMMMM HMMMMM HMMMMMMMMM...”

Hooty’s incessantly loud humming echoed through the Owl House. The door was wide open, making the owl demon’s voice all the more painfully obvious to its inhabitants. It was especially close to King, who was sprawled across the living room floor atop a piece of paper and with a rather large crayon in one of his paws.

Something about a new plan for world domination. Hooty wasn’t entirely sure.

He just knew that it inspired him to go on a creative journey of his own in the form of a song. Hence the painful humming.

“HEY KIIIIIING WHADDYA THINK OF THIS HOOT?” Hooty tilted his head back and forth in multiple directions as he repeated the tune.

King groaned. It was going to be another long day; especially without Luz to distract him with those things she called belly rubs. If he was going to bring his plans to fruition until his friend’s return, he was going to need to shut the owl up somehow. “I think you need to lower your volume. Yeah… Yeah, that’s right. You gotta hum so quietly that no one can possibly hear you. And then that way it’ll be a surprise when you’re done.”

He chuckled to himself, marveling at what an evil genius he was.

“OOOOOOH SO YOU THINK SOMETHING MORE LIKE THIS THEN!” Hooty slowed his hums, which, under normal circumstances, should have probably quieted him on some level. However, it seemed to only heighten his already painfully high pitch. The almost dog-whistle high squeak of his hums caused King’s fur to jolt up; the demon squeezed his crayon so hard it broke in half.

“Oh titans, it’s even worse!”

“YOU’RE RIGHT. THE FIRST ONE WAS WAAAAAAAY BETTER,” Hooty commented, completely oblivious to King’s pain. “NOW I JUST NEED SOME WORDS. HOW ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE, ‘SAY GOODBYEEEEEE TO THE PAIN OF THE PAST’?” 

Hooty nodded to himself and started to move away from the house. "YEAHH! I LIKE THAT! SAY GOODBYEEEEEE TO THE PAIN OF THE PAAAAAST!"

King’s eyes widened. He panted as he rushed out of the door after Hooty, who had started to move away from the house. "Wait… What? NO! NO GOODBYE! MORE PAIN! KEEP IT COMING!”

Hooty tilted his head, a smile — or as close to one that he could get to, at least — growing on his face. "YOU WANT PAIN!?" he asked. "SO YOU WILL SING WITH ME!! OH GREAT! I LOVE SINGING WITH MY FRIENDS!" Hooty inched his face closer to King and rolled his head back and forth in a way that should not be physically possible yet he did it effortlessly and with a huge smile. _"ARE YOU READY!!?"_ he hummed at a low volume, but it felt threatening.

King backed a few steps away. "Yeahhh," he muttered, shooting a glance behind himself. _"I'm out!"_

"OH BOY!" Hooty yelped, following King as he backed away. "WE'RE GONNA HAVE _SOOOOOOO_ MUCH FUN!!" _  
_

"LET'S SING!!" Hooty hooted very hoot-fully. King's face had taken on a pallor. The small demon continued to back away from Hooty, eyes darting back and forth. Hooty opened his mouth. King winced.

Hooty closed his eyes. King closed his and hoped to not trip over the root of a tree. "ALL MY LIFE HAS BEEN A SERIES OF DOORS I SLAMMED SHUT!!"

Hooty paused for less than a second. King foolishly cracked open an eye in hopes that whatever horror this was had ended. Only to immediately shut them again when Hooty's shrill... shriek of singing forced him to close them again.

"AND THEN SUDDENLY I HOOT INTO YOUUUUUUU!"

King facepalmed. "I object to having _anything_ to do with this! You cannot make—" he paused and puffed out his chest, throwing a hand to the sky "—the King of Demons do _anything_ he doesn't want to do!!"

"BUT WITH HOOOT!"

"Shut up shut up shutupshutup—"

"BUT WITH HOOOOT!"

King facepalmed again. "Oh no..."

There was a shuffling of leaves somewhere far behind him, to what he thought was the left. He'd backed up as far as he could and now was pressed into a tree. Hooty was flailing around in front of him, still singing.

"I SAY 'HOOT HOOT' AND IT'S NOTHING LIKE I'VE EVER HOOTED BEFOOOOREEEE...!!!"

King turned his head as far around as he could manage, just in time to catch a horrified-looking Luz running toward Amity, who was in the far distance, with a frightened shriek. Or maybe it was closer to a sob. "Hooty looked at me! He _saw_ me!! Oh, Amity, I'm never gonna be able to get away from him ever agaaaaaaiiiin—" 

"No!" King called out, stumbling in the direction Luz had run. "Luz! Save me!"

"LOVE IS AN OPEN HOOOOOOT!"

"Don't go without meeeee!" King wailed as he continued to try to run toward Luz. "Take me with yooou!! Don't make me face this horror alone!!" His foot caught on a root of the tree and the ground rushed toward his face. He jerked his head to the side in time so that he didn't crash face first, but still landed hard just inches from what could have been a soft landing in a large pile of leaves. _"Oof!"_

_Well, at least it can't get much worse than this...?_ King spat out a clump of dirt. 

"WHAT WAS THAT YOU SAIIIID?" Hooty hooted.

King reluctantly rolled over and came face to face with the Owl House himself looming over him.

"YOU WERE TRYING TO LEAVE!? I THOUGHT WE WERE SINGING MY NEW SONG TOGETHER! JUST LIKE THIS—"

King winced and mentally prepared himself for 'Hooty's New Song'.

"LOVE IS AN OPEN HOOOOOOOOT!"

If King had said it couldn't have gotten any worse, he was desperately wrong. The doors to the owl house had started to open and slam to the beat of the song.

"LOVE IS AN OPEN HOOOOOO _OOOOOOOOO_ OOOOOOOOOOOO _OOOOT_!"

Thud- _thud._ Thud- _thud._

"WITH HOOT!"

"Shut up," King muttered weakly.

"WITH HOOT!" Hooty turned back to King. "C'MON KIIIIIIIIIING! I _KNOW_ YOU WANNA SING WITH MEEEEE!"

"I _really_ don't."

"WITH HOOT! WITH _HOOT!"_ The doors thudded shut again, harder than they had before. King could almost feel the ground tremble.

"You really need to stop doing that," he tried to warn. "What is Eda gonna think!?"

"I MEAN IT'S HOOTY!" Hooty's voice was scratchy. King sat up, but Hooty — being the never-ending... well, _thing_ that he was — had created walls on every side of King.

King buried his face between his knees, trying not to think about the impenetrable wall of... _Hoot_ between him and sanity.

"WE'D FINISH EACHOTHER'S—" Hooty's face turned back to King. "— _HOOT_ WHICHES!"

"Oh Titans," King mumbled. "He's still going..."

"THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE GONNA HOOT!" Hooty bopped his head back and forth. The angle at which it turned, by all means, shouldn't have been possible, but — King grimaced — Hooty made it so. "I'VE NEVER MET SOMEONE WHO HOOTS SO MUCH LIKE _HOOOT!"_

Hooty paused.

"Is it over?" King wondered aloud but was very nearly cut off with his answer.

"HOOOT HOOOT!"

"I'll take that as a... _no."_

"OUR MENTAL HOOTNIZATION CAN HAVE BUT ONE HOOTPLANATION!!!"

"La la la la la la la la laaaaa!" King plugged his ears and sung at the top of his lungs to try to drown Hooty out.

"HOOTY HOOT WERE JUST MEANT TO _HOOOOOOOOOOOOT!"_

"La la la la la..."

"SAY 'HOOT HOOOT!'"

"I will not!" King crossed his arms over his chest. "I said it before and I'll say it again— YOU CANNOT MAKE THE KING OF—"

"TO THE HOOT OF THE HOOT!"

" _—DEMONS,"_ King finished softly. He sunk to his knees.

"WE DON'T HAVE TO HOOT IT ANYMOOOOOOOOOOORE!!!!"

"You're right," King yelled. "We _don't have_ to hoot it anymore!! We could _just stop hooting!"  
_

Hooty opened his mouth, returning to the chorus, which somehow became unbearably louder than it already was.

“LOVE IS AN OPEN HOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!! LOVE IS AN OPEN HOOOOOOooooooOOOOOT!!!!"

“No, it’s not!”

"LIFE COULD BE SUCH A HOOT WITH HOOT!!!”

"No!"

“WITH HOOT!”

“For the love of…”

“HEY KIIIIIIING CAN I HOOT SOMETHING CRAZY?”

Squinching his eyes, Hooty slithered closer and closer to King until he was directly in front of his face. The demon yelped and took a leap back, but that only caused Hooty to slink in closer. His beak stretched across his face in some contorted smile that Hooty personally thought was adorable but that made King want to throw up.

Suddenly, as loud as he possibly could and his voice echoing to new levels through the house, Hooty screamed and happily ruffled his feathers – or what resembled feathers.

“WILL YOU HOOT WITH ME???”

“Over my-” King was about to retort when a cloud of smoke poofed in front of him. The demon threw his arm in front of his face, struggling to brush the smoke away and letting out a few coughs in the process. “What the… Heh?” He blinked in confusion.

King moved his head to one side, then to the other, and then stared at the door.

It was… Surprisingly sparse.

Where Hooty’s face normally was, there was a blank space.

King cocked his head, making a confusing squeaking noise.

_“Finally!”_ Eda the Owl Lady stepped forward, revealing herself behind King. With her staff in one hand, she used her arm to wipe her brow, brushing away some sweat. She then smirked, revealing her golden, pointed tooth. “I thought we’d never get him to shut the fuck up. That owl was giving me such a headache.”

“Oh good!” King sighed with relief, allowing himself to plop on the ground. His back came in contact with the ground and he stared up at Eda through the skull that covered his face. “So where’d you poof him off to?”

“I dunno,” the witch shrugged and picked at her tooth with a long fingernail. "Hopefully somewhere he can scar some juveniles for life… Or at least for a few months.”

“Hehehehe,” King chuckled. “I wonder which poor saps are stuck with him this time!”

* * *

The forest was quiet. Eerily so.

Elsa cautiously poked her head out from behind a tree. Deeming that the coast was clear, she slid towards the next one. She pressed her back to it, blonde hair quickly becoming ensnared in the bark. She took a few deep breaths.

Any second now...

_Crack!_

Her eyes widened.

It was her cue.

She could do this.

Exhaling, she leaped from behind the tree. A faint blue light began to encase her hands. She tapped deep into her icy veins, focusing on her powers that coursed through them. It had been a while since she used them to defend herself. In fact, it hadn't been so long ago that Elsa even struggled to control them. But today she was going to do it. She was going to use them to defend herself. She had the power. She had the control. She was the Snow Queen. Raising one arm, she prepared to unleash the icy blast that threatened to escape itself, otherwise prepared to cover the whole forest in a frosty blanket.

"HI THERE! HOOTY HERE!"

Eyes bulging, Elsa gasped and tripped backward.

"What the...!"

With a thud, she landed back first onto the ground. Raising her head, she gave it a shake. Her loose platinum locks flew back and forth, briefly cutting off parts of her vision. Forcing herself to sit up, she tucked her hair behind her ear and finally took in the sight before her.

Honeymaren was hanging upside-down from the tree. No doubt that had been where she was hiding, prepared to make her move on Elsa.

Her attack!

Her attack, Elsa meant.

Because they were training.

Not a _move-_ move. 

Who said that?

But...

She had something wrapped around her entire body.

A... Worm thing... of some sort?

It looped around her figure once...twice...thrice...at least four times, by Elsa's estimate.

And at the end of it, dangerously close to Honeymaren's face was...

An owl head?

That could... Talk...?

Somehow when the two of them made plans to train together that afternoon this was _not_ what Elsa had been expecting.

Not that she had been expecting anything.

Certainly not hoping to get closer to Honeymaren in any way.

At all.

That was the furthest thing from her mind.

So far that it wasn't even a thought.

Where did it even come from right now?

Honeymaren? Who was that?

The owl...thing...blinked. It seemed to be staring at Elsa with wide...black..?...eyes. It tilted its head to one side, and then to the other. Its beak that...was quite possibly trying to create a smile of some sort...?...appeared so distorted. Blurry. There was something _wrong_ with what she was seeing. Just like there was something _wrong_ with that high, shrill, painful voice that escaped the creature.

What the...?

"SO WHAT'S _YOUR_ NAME???"

Her eyes widened and her breath echoed shallowly. Her inhales were hollow, she was sucking air in but nothing was reaching her lungs. Blood pounded in her ears; a low strangled whine of discomfort escaped her throat.

The next thing Elsa knew, everything went black.

* * *

"Ugh..."

Her vision began to return. The colors were faint and blurred together, but she could make out enough of her surroundings. There were the trees far above her... Some kind of nulled pointy-shape... It was brown...or tan...maybe beige...? It was attached to a figure; a beautiful one... With caramel-colored eyes... She smiled softly. She could stay there forever... If she got to keep this view...

"You okay?" Honeymaren's voice filled Elsa's ears with warmth as she offered her hand.

Elsa's eyes fluttered as she snapped back to reality. "Wha... What happened?"

"Are you okay?" Maren repeated, just as gently. Her hand was still outstretched.

Was she okay...?

Was she okay with Honeymaren near her?

Was she okay with having Honey... Maren... Honey _maren_ reaching out her hand for Elsa to take, for Elsa to touch?

Was she okay listening to Honeymaren's voice? 

Was she okay with staying gazing up at Maren's worried, but soft, caring smile for the rest of the day? 

Was she okay laying on the ground covered in dirt after having passed out for no explicable reason?

Wait, what?

All too quickly, Elsa's back shot up off the ground, jolting her into a seated position. Her arms flailed in the air as she screeched, "I'M FINE!"

Realizing how loud that had come out, her arms retreated into her chest. "S...sorry," she apologized to her friend. Letting out a quiet breath, Elsa pulled her legs underneath her and adjusted her posture. It was...more regal in a way, and perhaps taking Elsa back to her days as an actual queen, but it still allowed her to feel some semblance of control. Something she obviously lacked this particular afternoon. "I... I don't know why that was so loud. I just... I think I had this awful dream. There was this... I don't even know what it was... A, a bird...? Or... or a worm? Maybe both...?"

"LIKE ME?"

Elsa shuddered at the sound of that voice again. She pulled out one of her hands, moving her hand up to rub her temples. "Ugh, you even got that damn voice right."

Honeymaren blinked. "Uh... That wasn't me..."

Elsa paused. "Wait, what?"

Her head shot to her left, meeting her friend's gaze fully. Elsa stared at her with a puzzled look. Honeymaren bit her bottom lip. She averted Elsa's gaze briefly as if to question herself before making her next move. Eyes gleaming regretfully, Honeymaren wiggled her pointer towards Elsa, maybe to signal to turn around...? Unsure how to feel about that, Elsa twisted her lip. She didn't like that look at all. 

What the hell were they getting into?

Reluctantly, Elsa slowly turned her head.

There, standing behind her was a...

Floating owl head?

Elsa blinked.

It...

It was just like that horrible creature from the dream that had Honeymaren in its wormy grasp.

Those creepy, beady eyes.

That blank stare.

That twisted beaky smile.

That long — feathered? Or was it more... furry? Or some sort of weird scaly? She couldn't quite tell — body.

That just seemed to go on and on and on.

What the...?

Elsa's eyes shifted downward, hoping to find an end to it somehow. But no. The body seemed like some endless worm. And it weaved in and out between the trees of the Enchanted Forest, seeming to disappear into its depths. Gulping, her blue eyes cautiously met the tiny black ones again. For a moment the creature remained in front of her, with that same blank stare. Pulling in her lips, Elsa raised her hand. She had no idea what the hell was compelling her to reach out to this horrid creature. But before she could make any other movements, let alone allow any other words to escape her lips, the owl monster's mouth began to move again.

And with that came the same horrid voice.

"HOOTY HOOT HOOT!"

And just like that, Elsa leaned over and her lunch returned in the least dignified way possible.

"OH BOY!" the owl head cheered. "SNACK TIME! THANK YOU!"

* * *

As soon as Elsa managed to get herself together again she and Honeymaren began making their way back towards the encampment. Whatever this...thing...was, Elsa and Honeymaren had no clue. But if there was anyone who might have a chance of being able to fill them in - or better yet, make it disappear completely - it would be Yelena and the elders. Elsa still felt a bit lightheaded as they cautiously stepped through the forest, stopping every so often to rub her head. She briefly felt Honeymaren’s fingertips come into contact with her arm as if to offer her assistance, but Elsa just as quickly jerked her arm away. She didn’t want… She didn’t _need_ that right now. She could handle herself fine on her own.

Though, to be fair, it didn’t help that she could feel her friend’s concerned gaze on her back.

Darting her eyes away from Honeymaren’s general direction, she forced her gaze towards the creature. The brown...worm-owl-tube- _something_ was...she wouldn’t quite say floating. That was a weird way to describe it. Elsa had only seen something floating with Gale. And yet even Gale was cowering from this monstrosity. She had felt the wind spirit earlier, back when she and Honeymaren had begun...training. Yes, training. But since the appearance of this... _thing_...Gale was nowhere to be found. Elsa couldn’t begin to imagine how the other spirits must be reacting as well.

Actually, she could; she was the Fifth Spirit after all.

Maybe that explained her sudden hurling earlier.

How the hell had Honeymaren not been totally grossed out by her?

The sickening feeling in her stomach grew as she continued to force her gaze at him. Thankfully everything she had eaten that day had been emptied earlier with... what had the... _thing_ called itself? Hooty? With whatever it was, _whoever_ it was's _sudden_ appearance. And she was nowhere near about to eat anything again. Sheer terror's bout of nausea hadn't quite left and it had taken away her entire appetite when it had come.

Although Elsa was certainly anticipating its return with full force.

She winced and squeezed her hands tight over her ears when Hooty made a dreadfully awful screeching noise. Elsa had lived in the forest for a few months now. And she knew the ins and outs of the sounds and sights, and whatever this thing was, it was _not_ from anywhere near there. That should have been clear by the fact that it was... well, an owl's head on a giant...smooth?...worm's body, and maybe it would have been clearer if Elsa could have thought straight for a second…

But the awful way the creature spoke was still ringing in her ears. 

They could not get to Yelena soon enough.

“HOOTY HOOT HOOT!”

The owl thing would _not_ shut up.

Hooty hummed happily, floating behind his new friends. “OH I’M SO HAPPY TO MEET OTHER HUMANS LIKE LUZ! YOU GUYS ARE WAAAAAY TALLER THAN HER! HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN THIS TALL? I BET I CAN GO TALLER THAN YOU. LIKE THIIIIIIIIIS!”

Hooty stretched his body, continuing to wriggle through the air. His body hovered over Elsa and Honeymaren, his head directly above Elsa’s. It made his shrill voice all the more painful for the blonde, who went so far as to press her hands and hair against her ears.

“YOU DON’T SMELL LIKE LUZ THOUGH. DO ALL HUMANS SMELL DIFFERENT? CAN YOU DO MAGIC, TOO? ARE YOU TRAINING? IS THAT HOW YOU GOT SO TALL? CAN YOU GROW EVEN TALLER? I BET YOU CAN’T HOOT TALLER THAN ME, HOOTY.”

Honeymaren narrowed her gaze. “We heard you the first time.”

“OH GOOD! THEN YOU CAN LISTEN TO ME SOME MORE! LISTEN TO WHAT I CAN DO!” Hooty cleared his throat before singing something horrible off-key. “THERE ONCE WAS A HOOTY, WHO HAD A HOOT, AND HOOTY WAS HIS NAME-O! HOOTY HOOT HOOTHOOT _HOOT_ , HOOTY HOOT HOOTHOOT _HOOT_ , HOOTY HOOT HOOTHOOT _HOOT,_ AND HOOTY WAS HIS NAME- _O!”_

Hooty bumped into a tree. He pulled his head back, shaking off some shards that fell on his head. A squeak erupted from his beak and he stared blankly at the tree before tilting his head. Something was different about it… It didn’t look like any of the other trees. It was… Blueish. Was that blue? Hooty wasn’t sure. He didn’t know what blue looked like. He just knew it felt blue somehow. And hard. And cold. He tilted his head.

“OH HI THERE ICE TREE!” he grinned.

“Uh…” Honeymaren reached her hand out, barely grazing Elsa’s bare shoulder. Elsa pulled away again, signaling for Honeymaren to keep her distance. “Hey… Elsa…? Are… Are you okay?”

Elsa groaned. “We have a giant bird...worm...whatever...following us. And you're asking me if I'm okay." Her voice was colder than it normally was, and though Elsa didn’t mean anything by it, Hooty’s presence certainly wasn’t helping at all. She let out a tense breath. "I'm sorry. I'm... I'm not the best..." she admitted with an awkward shrug and nervous giggle. "Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm—" Maren started, but was cut off by Hooty gasping loudly. His eyes sparkled under the ice tree and his jaw dropped low. Suddenly, he raced so he was in front of Elsa. His stretchy body cut her off, causing her to halt in her tracks and Honeymaren to nearly walk into her.

“CAN YOU DO MAGIC, TOO???” Hooty exclaimed loudly.

Elsa narrowed her gaze. “I am not comfortable answering that.”

That seemed to be enough for Hooty.

“OH MY HOOT, YOU TOTALLY CAN!! YOU _ARE_ JUST LIKE LUZ!” Squealing loudly enough to cause some birds in the trees to flee for cover, Hooty wiggled his body in delight. “OH, YOU GUYS WOULD MAKE SUCH GOOD FRIENDS! LUZ WOULD LOVE YOU SOOOOOO MUCH! HEY, HOW DOES YOUR MAGIC WORK? WHERE’S YOUR PAPER? LUZ USES PAPER TO DO MAGIC. THEN SHE TAPS IT. IT SOUNDS REALLY DUMB BUT THAT’S ONLY CAUSE SHE HAS HANDS. I COULD DO IT, TOO, IF I HAD HANDS. BUT I CAN’T. I JUST LIVE IN A DOOR. SO INSTEAD I DO THIIIIIIIIIIIIS!” Hooty twisted his head back and forth before pulling his body away, slinking around from behind Honeymaren, and looping in front of her and Elsa once again. He then rose his head up and looped it through himself a number of times, contorting his figure into something of a pretzel. 

Honeymaren covered her mouth. “Okay,” she said to Elsa, “if you’re gonna throw up again, can I go first this time?”

"OH AND LOOK WHAT ELSE I CAN DO!" Hooty exclaimed. Puffing out his cheeks and coughing, he leaned forward and forced out a number of books to fall from his mouth. The hardcovers splattered across the ground, mostly covered in Hooty drool if not now in dirt. There was a pause as the owl attempted to puke out more. But when nothing would escape further, his head jerked up and he flashed the women a wide smile. "MMMM MMMMM THAT'S SOME GOOD KNOWLEDGE! WE CAN USE THESE TO START OUR OWN BOOK CLUB! WHO'S IN?"

The urge to throw up was definitely returning with full force. Elsa quickly covered her mouth, using every fiber in her being to hold it back.

And certainly not because she was afraid of looking like a disgusting mess in front of Honeymaren again!

When she felt Honeymaren’s hand on her shoulder again, a chill ran through Elsa’s spine. A faint gagging noise could be heard behind her, assuring her that Honeymaren was attempting to hold herself together as well.

“Please tell me that’s not what you do with books in Arendelle,” the brunette commented hoarsely.

“Spirits, never,” Elsa deadpanned.

“OKAAAAAAAAY BUT YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE MISSING!” Hooty sang.

“Seriously, what the hell is this thing?” Elsa muttered to Honeymaren.

Honeymaren gulped, forcing herself upright. “Whatever it is, Yelena better tell us… Or at least how to cook it.”

“OH, MY NEW FRIENDS ARE SO FUNNY!” Hooty grinned.

He slithered around the two of them, his body inching closer and closer around them until the smooth...was that even a good way to describe it? It should definitely have _not_ felt that way...pressed entirely against their bodies. Elsa felt herself slide back until she was pushed right up against Honeymaren. The warmth of her body felt like the complete opposite of Hooty. Whether it was the forced closeness of them or simply because of...well, Hooty...Elsa had no idea.

“I TOLD YOU,” Hooty continued until his face was directly in front of theirs, nearly pushed up against their cheeks, “I’M HOOTY! HOOTY HOOT HOOT!”

Now would be a fantastic time to unleash some of her ice magic. But Elsa couldn’t bring herself to do that. Whether it was the pure terror and discomfort that came with this creature or the fear of actually hurting Honeymaren, who would certainly feel the wrath of her powers more so, Elsa couldn’t say.

“OH I’M SO HAPPY TO HAVE SOME NEW FRIENDS! ARE YOU GUYS FRIENDS, TOO? DO YOU HAVE MORE FRIENDS? DO YOU HAVE A GROUP OF FRIENDS? OR A FLOCK? OR A BAND? OR A GANG? CAN I BE IN YOUR GANG? I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE IN A GANG. WE COULD GET INTO SOOOOOOO MANY HOOTS TOGETHER! WE CAN PLAY GANG GAMES AND HAVE GANG GOSSIP AND SHARE GANG STORIES AND SING GANG SONGS AND HAVE GANG NIGHTS AND ROLL IN GANG MUD AND MAKE GANG PIES AND DO EACH OTHER’S GANG HAIR… I ALWAYS WANTED BRAIDS IN MY FEATHERS! CAN YOU BRAID MY FEATHERS? WE COULD BE SOOOOO FABULOUS!”

Hooty even flipped his head for emphasis. 

“You are _not_ crashing our game night,” Honeymaren warned Hooty with a glare.

Elsa’s eyes darted to her.

Honeymaren blinked. “I… I mean… Not...not _our_ game night… You… _Your_ game night… With, with _your_ sister.”

“Yes… Of, of course… I, I know what you meant…” 

“I wouldn'— wasn't trying to crash it or anything…” 

“You...you wouldn’t be…” Elsa stammered, a slight flush rising to her cheeks. 

“It, it was only once...”

“You...you could join again… If, if you wanted…” _Dammit Elsa, do you have to stumble over every word? It's just talking!_ "It's fine to— to have you there. With me. I— I meant— with Anna _and_ me." 

“I would! I… I would, I, I mean if...if _you_ wanted… If that was okay with you. _And_ Anna. Of course." Maren didn't seem like she was having any easier of a time talking, between the nervous stuttering and awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. 

Hooty blinked at their sudden nerves. He had no idea what was going on. No hooting in their sentences… No eye contact… Their bodies felt different… Why was freezing air coming off one of them in waves? As she was also getting redder and redder? Or was it because she was so pale like the school spirit that always passed by the Owl House? Was she a spirit? Did spirits get that red? _Could_ spirits get that red?

He'd seen Amity get that red, around Luz. He'd also seen Luz get red when she talked about Amity. But that was different, they were girlfriends, and these two — Elsa and Honeymaren — were—

Hooty's eyes lit up in delight. “ _HOOOOOOOOOOT!_ ARE YOU GIRLFRIENDS???”

Honeymaren and Elsa flinched. Elsa immediately turned her head away from her friend. She felt her face heating up, conflicting against the ice that threatened to explode from her fingertips.

G...g… Girlfriends…?

Her…?

With…

Honeymaren…?

There was nothing! At all! Between them!

Their relationship was purely platonic. 

Of course. 

How could Hooty have seen anything different?

There was _nothing_ there to see. 

"W...who... Us...?"

Honeymaren’s stammering snapped Elsa out of it. Honeymaren's eyes were wide and her upper teeth were clamped down on her lower lip. 

"N—No we're— we're not g—gir—girlfr—" Honey— Honey _maren_ coughed. "You know. The thing."

Oh no, now Honeymaren was freaking out, too! 

_"Right,_ Elsa? N-nothing here," Honeymaren turned to Elsa, her eyes pleading. 

Elsa flinched and her arm shot to her side. A bolt of blue ice shot out toward Hooty. The bird thing yelped, jerking his body back. He immediately released Elsa and Honeymaren from his hold. As soon as she was free, Elsa clenched her fists in a desperate attempt to keep her powers to herself. She leaped away from Honeymaren, creating a noticeable amount of space between them.

“We… We’re not… We were never… We’ll never…”

She struggled to bring as much authority to her voice as possible, fighting away the nerves that threatened to swallow her whole.

Hooty, however, registered it very differently and only grew more excited.

So much so that his shrieking might as well have echoed all the way in Arendelle.

"OOOOOOOH! YOU TOTALLY ARE!" Hooty cheered. His worm body shot up, waving back and forth like a broken piece of string cheese. "YOU KNOW HOW I _KNOW_ THAT YOU ARE!?"

"We're _no—"_

"YOU GUYS LOOK _JUUUUST_ LIKE LUZ AND AMITY DO AROUND EACH OTHER!! AND THEY'RE GIRLFRIENDS! IT TOOK THEM SOOOOOO LONG TO GET TOGETHER THOUGH, DID IT TAKE YOU GUYS THAT LONG?? I WANNA KNOW EEEEEEEVERYTHING! WHEN DID YOU MEET? _HOW_ DID YOU MEET? WHO ASKED WHO FIRST? WHERE'D YOU GO? WHAT'D YOU DO? DID YOU KISS? OOOOO DID YOU SHARE A DRINK? LUZ AND AMITY SHARED A THING THAT LUZ CALLED A _SODA_ AND THEN I STOLE IT AND AMITY BEAT ME UUUUUUP!"

"Can I beat you up," Elsa muttered to herself, deadpan and rhetoric. 

"WHAT TYPE OF DRINK DID _YOU_ SHARE? I WANNA KNOW!" Hooty turned gleaming eyes onto Elsa and Honeymaren. "YOU SHARED A DRINK, RIIIIIIGHT!? THAT'S WHAT COUPLES DO!"

Honeymaren held up a finger, temporarily distracted. "Okay, I have no idea how it works in Arendelle... Or anywhere else... But how would sharing a drink..."

"OH MY HOOT, YOU TOTALLY DID!!!" Hooty screamed, his worm-like body wiggling to new extremes. "HOW MUCH SPIT DID YOU SWAP???"

Oh spirits...

How much worse could it get?

* * *

"HEY DO YOU GUYS WANNA HEAR THE SONG I WROTE TODAY?"

"No," they answered simultaneously.

"OH, YOU GUYS WOULD BE PERFECT FOR IT. IT'S ABOUT PEOPLE WHO LOVE EACH OTHER!" he grinned.

"We're not together," Honeymaren mumbled.

"Anwe'reotinove," Elsa's words barely escaped her and, anything that might have been heard was nothing more than a jumbled mess.

"HERE I'LL TEACH YOU GUYS THE WORDS!" Hooty offered. "I TRIED TO SING IT WITH MY FRIEND KING AND THEN EDA POOFED ME HERE. I CAN SING IT AND THEN YOU GUYS CAN SING IT TOGETHER! OH, I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR ACTUAL HUMANS SING MY SONG! I ALWAYS WANTED TO MEET MORE HUMANS AND SING FOR THEM! ARE THERE OTHER HUMANS HERE, TOO? DO ANY OF THEM LOOK LIKE LUZ? DO THEY EAT BUGS? DO THEY FLY? WILL THEY BE MY FRIEND?"

"Please shut the hell up already," Honeymaren groaned.

"LOVE IS AN OPEN HOOOOOOOOT!"

Elsa winced again, Hooty's sharp, shrill voice drilling into her skull. She squeezed her palms to the sides of her face in an attempt to drown out the song. The tune he had sung was tip-of-the-tongue familiar, something just outside of her reach. 

Not that whatever it was reminding her of was necessarily _pleasant_. 

Although by now she wasn't so sure whether that was just her unease with whatever Hooty was, and how he had gotten there, and how she and Honeymaren were going to get him back— 

Back to where, though, they were not sure. 

Honeymaren was frozen by Elsa's side with an expression somewhere between shock, annoyance, and anger on her face. 

Elsa gave a concerned sounding giggle when Hooty took back up singing. If she were slightly less composed, she might have broken down into hysteria. 

"LOVE IS AN OPEN HOOOOOOOOOOOOT!"

"You're singing so _damn_ loudly," Honeymaren groaned. Elsa whimpered pitifully in agreement, ears hidden behind her hands. 

Hooty ignored her. "OH NO!" he exclaimed. "I HAVE NO DOORS! _OH WELL!!_ I BET MY SONG IS STILL SO GREEEEEEEEAAAAT!"

"It's not, I assure you," Elsa muttered. Only Honeymaren was close enough to hear, and she let out a snicker. 

"WITH HOOOOOT! WITH HOOOOOOOOOT!" Hooty's gleaming black eyes turned down onto Elsa and Maren, not unlike the higher powers in stories always seemed to do. "THIS IS THE PART YOU GUYS WOULD SING TO EACH OTHER," Hooty whispered, more a rasp, and somehow more terrifying than his usual voice. A talking worm-owl-thing _whisper_ wasn't something Elsa had ever planned to hear, and it was horrendous when he did. "AND YOU WOULD GAZE _LOVINGLY_ INTO EACH OTHER'S EYES—" 

"Stop talking, shut up," Honeymaren hissed. "There's nothing between us but friendship, so fuck off and leave us alone—" 

"THAT'S NOT A VERY NICE THING TO SAYYYYY," Hooty droned out the last word. "WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE, MISS NATTURA..."

Honeymaren's eyes grew wide in surprise. "How do you know my name?" she demanded, deadpan and angry. 

"I HAVE MY WAAAAAAYYYYS!"

Hooty slinked in closer and closer, twisting his body multiple times until his face floated directly in front of Honeymaren's. There was a long dramatic pause. Elsa felt her body stiffen, wondering what the hell this...this... _thing_ was even planning to do with Honeymaren. And by the looks of it, Honeymaren was just as thrown off. Her jaw was clenched and she stared at the creature with wide eyes, making her caramel pools all the more prominent to Elsa. Hooty, meanwhile, tilted his head. He narrowed his beady eyes, letting out a deep - well, deep for Hooty - and almost menacing _HHHHHHMMMMMMMM_ with a low frown on his beak. He held the posture and look for what felt like too long, the suspense drawing. Until...

"I'M HOOTY!" he cheered, jerking his head back and wiggling his body.

Elsa stared at him blankly.

Honeymaren, in the meantime, looked completely shocked. Her eyes remained wide and her arms raised as if she was prepared to fight him. But at the sound of the suddenly cheerful owl, Honeymaren couldn't have looked more adorably clueless.

Clueless!

Just clueless.

"Um... What?"

Hooty began bopping his head back and forth, humming to a specific tune.

Oh no...

Not again.

"WHAT CAN I SAY EXCEPT I'M HOOTY!" he sang.

"Oh shit," Honeymaren deadpanned.

In unison with her friend's sentiment, Elsa groaned, "Oh spirits."

"HEY IT'S OK, IT'S OK, I'M HOOTY! I'M JUST AN ORDINARY DEMON HOOT!"

How many more songs could this thing _possibly_ have in him???

* * *

“OH LOOK! A BUG!” Hooty yipped in a singsong voice. “I’M GONNA CHASE YOU NOM NOM NOM!” 

“Is it possible for you to _not_ yell every word you say at the _top of your lungs?”_ Elsa spat angrily, whipping around to face Hooty. The tips of her fingers had started to glow blue. Eyes narrowing and hands curling into fists, she continued. “You abysmal, odious, abhorrent, cacophonous… _bird thing!!”_

“I DUNNO _ANYYYYYYYTHING_ YOU JUST SAID!” Hooty hummed, obviously ignoring Elsa. 

Elsa’s fists were trembling, she’d clenched them so tight. A growl had mounted in her throat. 

“LOOK! I CAUGHT THE BUG!” Hooty hooted triumphantly. There was a sickening crunching noise as he chewed it.

Elsa gagged. 

“I’M GONNA SING ABOUT IT! READY? IT GOES LIKE THIS: THERE WAS A BUG, HIS NAME WAS LUG, AND THEN I ATE HIM AFTER WE HUGGED! WITH A HOOT HOOT HOOTY HOOT HOOTY HOOT HOOT!” 

Elsa wrapped her arms around her head, purposefully covering her ears in an attempt to muffle some of Hooty’s clamor. 

“Can you _shut up!?”_ she screeched, her voice cracking. She took a breath. Her hands fell to her sides and her fists loosened. “Or, just, be a little quieter? _Please?”_

“I CAN BE QUIETER!” Hooty droned out the last word. “I CAN TALK LIKE _THIS,”_ he whispered, but it was high pitched and closer to a painful whistle. “OR LIKE _THIIIIIIIIIIIIIS…”_ he sang. “OR OR _OR LIKE_ THISSSSSSSSSS, LIKE A SNAKE! SSSSSSSSSSSSS HOOTY SNAKE! SSSSSSSSSSSS HOOT HOOT HOOTY SNAKE!”

“Alright,” Honeymaren groaned, facepalming. “I’m done with this. Ready to wrangle some bird-worms?” She turned to Elsa with a tired grin and cracked her knuckles. 

“I’M NOOOOO WOOOORRM!” Hooty sung. “I’M HOOTY SNAKE!”

“More than,” Elsa responded to Honeymaren, ignoring him.

“Great.” Honeymaren cracked her knuckles. “Okay, so I’m gonna—”

“OH LOOK! A MUD PUDDLE! I LOOOOVE PLAYING IN MUD WITH MY FRIEND AND HER GIRLFRIEEEEND!!”

“For the last time,” Elsa hissed. “We’re _not_ together, and we won’t _ever_ be together. _Right_ Maren?” She shot a pointed glare at the woman. Who was not Elsa’s girlfriend.

“Wh-what? Oh— y-yeah! No way!” Honeymaren chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck.

"See, Hooty!?" Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose. "No girlfriends here. Just two tired people who _really_ need a break."

No response.

Elsa groaned and looked up. Hooty had moved on, now he was flailing around in the mud puddle that he'd seen. Mud covered almost every inch of his body in thick splotches, save for his beak. Next to Elsa, Honeymaren cringed.

"Well," Elsa said weakly, "at least we don't have to wash him?" she paled. "Right!? I don't want to wash him, he's terrifying!" 

"I'M NOT TERRIFYING, YOU'RE TERRI—!" Hooty started to yell back at her. She glared him down and he stopped with an annoyed grumble. Probably something like, "meanie ice lady." 

Honeymaren sighed loudly. "Well I wasn't planning to get all muddy trying to wrangle after a giant bird-worm today..." she paused. "But then again I also wasn't planning for there to even be a giant bird-worm in the first place." 

"Life loves to throw you curveballs," Elsa commented dryly. 

Honeymaren grunted an agreement as she raised her staff over her head.

Elsa could see Maren's lips move, but couldn't hear what she was saying. Elsa chuckled to herself and leaned back against a tree as she watched Maren run at Hooty. 

A sound between a growl and a throaty scream left Honeymaren's mouth as she lunged for hooty, twirling the staff in her hands and thrusting it at the... Elsa still wasn't quite sure what Hooty was, she realized. It had been quite a day and that had been the least of her problems. Out of just the ones regarding Hooty. 

Of course, they were the most pressing of her issues. 

Probably. 

Hooty's body moved away from where Honeymaren had been aiming at, but his face stayed in the same taunting position above her. Honeymaren cursed lowly and spun on the ball of her foot. Her face was contorted with determination if not anger or annoyance, and sweat beaded on her forehead. 

"Stupid bird," she muttered, just loudly enough for Elsa to hear... and unfortunately, Hooty as well. 

"WHAT DID YOU CALL MEEEEEE?" he sang menacingly. Hooty's normal singing voice, if one could even call it that... was menacing enough, but his purposefully menacing voice was terrifying. Honeymaren gulped audibly and Elsa shrunk further away. As far as she could possibly get while still practically stuck to the tree. 

"I'M NOOOOOOOO _STUPID_ BIRD!! I'M SMART HOOTY WORM!!" 

Honeymaren rolled her eyes. They darted up at Hooty and then around him to a clump of close-knitted trees behind, and back to the staff in front of her. She was still poised in a lunge, and a ghost of a smile shadowed her lips. 

Elsa could almost see the gears turning. If they were on the same page with this idea, Honeymaren's plan was to corner Hooty into the trees. That would work. 

And Elsa could watch from afar, nice and safe away from the flying-wriggling-hooting menace that was — as he had proclaimed — Hooty Worm. 

Honeymaren's smirk only grew deeper as she started to slowly inch forward. She cast a quick glance back at Elsa, with a look that Elsa couldn't quite decipher but chose to see as 'watch me do this amazing thing while you stay over there.'

Honeymaren shook her head slightly in Elsa's direction then over to the trees. With a small nod at Elsa, Honeymaren turned back to Hooty and took off running, her staff back between two hands above her head, the length of it facing Hooty. 

When the two of them neared the trees, Honeymaren shouted, the words rumbling in her throat, "Elsa, you ready!?" 

"F-For what? Ready— ready for what?" 

Honeymaren groaned loudly and threw her head back in exasperation. There was a hitch in her step where she seemed like she might stop, but she seemed to remember her target and kept running. "You were gonna co— come—" she grunted. "Help me— with this— using your—"

Hooty had been backing up with Honeymaren, wriggling in the air and Hooting furiously. The canopy overhead was too thick for him to shoot through it, but he seemed aggravated and like he might have if that were an option. It at least looked like he wanted to. Elsa gulped. Knowing Hooty, he just might be able to whatever he wanted, with enough willpower. 

"Hands! Elsa!" Honeymaren screeched. Elsa snapped out of her trance and saw that Hooty had, indeed, shot straight up. "Magic! Ice! Hands! Fuck, Elsa! Don't let him get away!!" 

"My _what!?"_ Elsa yelped. "Hands? What are— _ohhhhh_ ," she chuckled softly and slapped her knee with the base of her palm. "Yeah, yeah, I get it now! Lapse in—" 

"JUST GET THE DAMN BIRD!" Honeymaren yelled. "Do _not_ let him away. This may be our first and last chance to actually—" she paused. "Wait... what are we planning to do with him once we capture him?"

"I don't know!" Elsa squeaked. "You were the one with the plan!!" 

Disgust spread across Honeymaren's face and she shuddered. "Well... we could always try to..." she gagged. "You know. Fry up some owl..." 

"Tasty," Elsa forced out between clenched teeth.

"Yelena knows everything," Honeymaren gasped for breath. "She'll know what to do."

"WILL SHE KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH—" Elsa winced, jabbing her finger at the sky. _"THAT!??!"_

Hooty was swirling just under the canopy lining, branches and leaves being ripped off the trunk in the wake of the storm he'd created. 

Reluctantly, Honeymaren looked up and grimaced when she did. "Well..." she dropped her staff and it clattered to the floor. "Are you up for some tree-climbing, Elsa?"

"I—" Elsa winced. The last time they had gone tree-climbing had resulted in her not being able to hold anything for three days, painful blisters covering her palms. "I—" 

Honeymaren groaned. "I get it's not ideal, but are you willing to do whatever it takes to get this demon out of here?" 

Hooty's jet black eyes stared down at them. "THAT'S _RIIIIIIIIGHT_ _!"_ he crooned. "I AM A DEMON!" 

_Well,_ Elsa thought dryly. _I guess that solves the problem of What He Is._ "I have a better idea," she finally said. "I can get Gale, and use them to— well, fly up to him..." she pulled a face. "Or— or something. I guess that wasn't much better— I can— I can think of something better—"

"Whatever you do," Honeymaren cut her off, "just do it fast."

Before Elsa could make another movement - hell, before she could even make another thought, a scream could be heard from the treetops. 

"HOOOOOOOOOOOT!" 

Eyes widening, Elsa tilted her head upwards. 

Hooty dove down from under the canopy — heading straight for Honeymaren. 

"Honey look out!" she gasped, flailing her arms wildly in Honeymaren's direction. 

She barely had a split-second to register Honeymaren's reaction. Wide eyes, frozen in shock— 

Too fast to think, Elsa waved her arm frantically and a shield of ice appeared over Honeymaren's head. Honeymaren's shoulders drooped momentarily when she saw the ice arch just over her head, but it was replaced once more by panic when she saw that Elsa wasn't under it with her. 

"Elsa!" Honeymaren hissed. Her eyes darted up toward Hooty, who was fast approaching. If Elsa missed stumbling under the icy cover with Honeymaren by even a second... well, she would get squashed under the weight and willpower of Hooty. And his willpower, Honeymaren had learned, much like him, seemed to never have an end. 

The two of them would test it; push it, if they had any more energy and strength. 

Honeymaren was _so tired._

"Come on, come on..."

Elsa sped as fast as her feet could carry her through the remaining distance, hoping to reach her friend before the owl demon. Her head whipped around, blinking through raw panic to try to focus on where she needed to go.

Her limbs felt heavy, and like she was walking too slowly, moving too slowly. 

Hooty's hoot was slower, deeper, and somehow no less creepy than it already was. Honeymaren appeared frozen in time, no movement at all from her save for maybe a few loose strands of her hair. There was no sound or feel from Gale anywhere around them; the air was completely still. 

"Elsa!"

Where was that coming from? Elsa's chest heaved and she swallowed down a sob. Her head throbbed. _Just keep going,_ she told herself, _just keep going—_

Then, just before Hooty's face came in contact with Elsa's ice bridge, Elsa's body slammed into Honeymaren's. Honeymaren groaned in response, winded by the collision. 

The sound of ice could be heard shattering behind them, like a million crystals scattering across the floor. A thud came after; signaling that one of the women came in contact with the ground beneath them. A grunt followed, likely from Honeymaren, and then Elsa felt her arm against the root of one of the trees. She let out a whimper in pain and tried to curl up smaller into herself, ending up burying her face into Honeymaren's neck. 

There were one, two rolls across the ground before they slid to a stop. 

Elsa landed stomach first over something, though she was unsure what. She gagged as she gasped for air. Her elbow stung and when she pushed a hand to it, her fingers drew back red. She used her hands to prop herself up, arching over whatever was underneath her. Her loose blonde strands were completely out of place and she was sure she was going to be feeling a bruise in at least a few places by the morning.

She let out a few huffs, struggling to catch her breath. 

What the hell just happened...? 

Twisting her body, she situated herself so her body became parallel to the others and she found her face hovering over none other than Honeymaren's.

"Oh my spirits!" she gasped. "I—I'm sorry—" 

She immediately brought one of her hands down and used it to push a few bangs away from Honeymaren's face. Her hand drew back slightly, tucking some hair behind her friend's ear. It was even thicker than it looked. And so soft. Spirits, it was _so_ soft! She didn't even realize how much hair was in her hands until she actually saw that Honeymaren's hat had flown off and her braid became half undone. 

Honeymaren groaned, flinching for a millisecond, but not pulling away from Elsa's touch. Her brows furrowed as her eyes began to flutter as if she were silently asking a question. 

"Honey, are you okay?" Elsa asked quickly.

Honeymaren's lips upturned slightly and she chuckled. "Honey?" she teased playfully, through her voice croaked. 

"I— I—" Elsa defended herself. Or at least, _tried_ to defend herself. "Just tell me if you're okay," she finally settled for, and it came out hoarse and sharp. 

"I'm fine," Honeymaren retorted. Groaning, she pulled herself up to a seated position. Her brows furrowed as they settled on Elsa's arm. "You should be telling me if _you're_ okay! Look at yourself, Elsa!" 

Elsa crossed her arms in front of her chest and covered her right elbow with her left hand. With a pained grimace, she replied, "I'm fine."

“You’re definitely not fine,” Honeymaren shook her head. “Here, let me...” Her voice faded as she looked around them, trying to locate something.

“ISN’T ANYONE GONNA ASK IF I’M FINE?” Hooty’s faint voice echoed behind them.

"Shut up, Hooty," Elsa mumbled.

"OK!" the owl demon decided gleefully.

At least he cooperated for a fleeting moment.

Honeymaren, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to have much luck herself.

“Can you...uh...” she paused to try to think of the right words. She snapped her fingers a few times, but nothing escaped her lips. Finally, she opted to make a motion with her hands, as if she were trying to mimic when Elsa sprinkled snowflakes to feed Bruni. Although it looked more like she was making a sinister movement with her fingers. Elsa didn’t look like that when she did her magic, did she? Did Honeymaren think she was creepy somehow? Or that her magic was creepy? That it was scary? That it was off-putting? 

Oh spirits what if Elsa’s magic somehow made Honeymaren uncomfortable? What if she freaked her out? What if she was as bad as... As...

"Elsa...?"

Honeymaren’s warm voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

How was it possible that, even in complete confusion and chaos, not to mention anger and annoyance at the creature that was Hooty Worm, did Honeymaren manage to sound as warm and soft as actual honey?

Elsa shook her head. "S...sorry..."

Wincing as she moved her hand from her elbow, she tilted her wrist. A faint blue glow began to surround her hand, causing Hooty’s eyes behind them to lighten up in pure delight and wonder. A few snowflakes began to emit from Elsa’s hand, forming a wavy line of some sort. As the shape began to take more form, it was revealed to be an ice ribbon. Or an ice bandage, more specifically.

“CAN YOU MAKE ONE FOR ME TOO SO WE CAN BE BOO BOO BUDDIES?” Hooty hooted hopefully.

As the bandage wrap fluttered down into Honeymaren’s palms, Elsa snapped her fingers.

"Of course we can," she said, her voice silky and drawn in fake compassion. A similar item to the one on her arm immediately wrapped itself around Hooty’s beak, though it was more of a rope than a bandage.

“HMMM...HMMMMMM!” he attempted to hoot but ultimately failed. Hooty began flailing his body all around and stretching his beak in a desperate attempt to break free from the constriction.

Meanwhile, Honeymaren began to gently wrap the bandage around Elsa’s elbow. She kept her touch light, but the warmth from it heavily contrasted the cold from Elsa’s creation. Despite that Honeymaren was trying not to push any part of her body up against Elsa, the warmth and comfort from her were undeniable. Even the faintest brush of her fingers against Elsa’s skin sent goosebumps throughout her body. But that had to have been completely normal. It wasn’t like she hasn’t been tended to by a gorgeous woman before...

She meant her gorgeous friend—

She meant her friend—

Her friend named Honey...

MAREN!

Honey _maren_...obviously.

"Is...is it too tight?" Honeymaren asked cautiously.

Elsa blinked.

Was what too tight?

The space between her and Honeymaren?

The grip Honeymaren had around Elsa’s arm?

The air between them?

Elsa’s lungs?

She blinked, attempting to ignore the blush that fluttered onto her cheeks.

“Uh...oh...”

There was a faint pounding behind them, likely Hooty still struggling to get out of his prison so he could hoot scream in their ears and faces again.

Elsa attempted to drown that out with her thoughts.

_Come on Elsa, get it together!_ she thought with frustration. _It’s not like you haven’t been this close to Honeymaren before. She’s just being a good friend. That’s it, that’s all you are. Conceal it, don’t feel it._

Wait, what?

What was she concealing?

Elsa’s eyes darted down in a desperate attempt to avoid those caramel eyes.

Not to mention to avoid looking at... Well, Honeymaren.

Especially when she'd never seen the woman with her hair even partially undone. Or her hat off. Her hair was indeed thick. It was _so_ thick. There was so much of it. And had those been curls Elsa noticed? She didn't realize Honeymaren had curly hair. No wonder it was so damn soft. The way they framed her face... Brought out her eyes... how they were just begging to be touched again...

NO!

No. No. No. No.

She had to focus on something else.

Anything else.

Finally, she registered that Honeymaren had nearly completed wrapping the ice bandage around Elsa’s elbow.

Oh...!

She hadn't tied it yet.

_Idiot. Idiot idiot idiot._

Of course, that's what Honeymaren was asking about.

"It— it's fine," she managed to gulp.

Honeymaren nodded and proceeded to tie it fully. “I...I would’ve used my sleeve or something but... Well, Ryder would destroy me if I did... It...it takes a lot to sew it back together and everything... Thick coat and all... And, and I figured the cold doesn’t bother you so...it, it’s probably better for you anyway...”

Why the hell was Honeymaren struggling to get words out? She had no reason to stumble. She had been doing just fine applying the bandage. She had no reason to worry. She wasn’t the one constantly stumbling all afternoon.

The sound of Hooty slamming his face into a tree distracted Elsa. There was a loud, frustrated HMMMMMMM escaping him, replacing his usual hoot.

Well...it was a little better than his usual hoot, anyway.

Not that it was saying much.

“It...it’s fine...” Elsa managed to force out. She cleared her throat. “You...you didn’t have to do anything...”

Honeymaren shrugged her shoulders. She finished tying the bandage before pulling her hands away. And just like that, the heat vanished. “Maybe. But...well, you did save my ass back there. Even if it was last second. So...it was the least I could do. Besides...” She twisted her lips, almost appearing to form a shy smile. But that couldn’t be right.

Honeymaren was _not_ shy.

"That's just what... friends do."

Right.

Cause that's what they had between them, what they were to each other. Friends. 

Something purely and completely platonic. 

Elsa pulled in her lips and clenched her fingers in her lap, attempting to keep her composure.

No, she was _definitely_ keeping her composure.

Because she was _not_ disappointed in any way.

Honeymaren was stating the obvious.

Elsa was just...

Distracted by Hooty slowly floating up beside her.

Wait, what?

“PSSSSSSST!”

Elsa’s eyes slowly and reluctantly shifted to the creature beside her. His beak remained tied, for the most part, but he managed to get the very edge of it sticking out so he could hoot again.

Whether his hoots were that annoyingly piercing, shrill whisper because of his will, or because of the rope, Elsa had no idea.

But either way, she absolutely despised where this was going.

“THIS IS WHEN YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO KISS IT AND MAKE IT ALL BETTER.”

Elsa froze in place. Her eyes darted back and forth rapidly between Hooty and Honeymaren.

This was the part where Honeymaren had to WHAT???

With an exasperated gasp, Hooty managed to open his beak wide enough to break the ice rope.

“HOOOOOOOOOT!”

He took in a long, deep, Hooty breath before screaming in excitement back at his abnormally loud volume. "YOU LOOK AT EACH OTHER, GET CLOOOOOOOSE TO EACH OTHER, PUT YOUR HANDS IN EACH OTHER'S HAIR—"

“AND THEN YOU KISS EACH OTHER!"

"No—"

Elsa hadn't ever kissed anyone. What if she was bad at it? What if her lips were cold or weird or—? What if Elsa didn't like it? What if it became too much? What if she ran? That's what she always did, wasn't it? Run away from her feelings and her problems instead of facing them? _Stupid, stupid._

What if—

What if Honey— _Honeymaren_ didn't want to kiss her? 

“HOOOOOT! KISS HER!"

“HOOOOOT! KISS HER!"

“HOOOOOT! YOU GONNA KISS HER NOW?"

“HOW ABOUT NOW?"

“HOW ABOUT NOOOOOOOOW?"

Hooty darted back and forth between Honeymaren’s right and left. Hooty had no idea where they were going, only that he was following his new friends home. It was a really long way home. He wondered what kind of home they had in the middle of the forest. Would their house have an owl like him living in it? Or their own demon? They kept mentioning this strange name… Ye—lay—na. That sounded kind of strange and long to say. Hooty was just going to go with Yenana. That sounded better and a lot more fun and more full of hoots. Yup, he was definitely going to call this mysterious person Yenana. Yenana the banana. Maybe she was a witch like Eda. Oh, that would be such a hoot!

Hooty rapidly moved back and forth, whispering his question into Honeymaren’s ear each time. At least, it was whispering to Hooty.

He didn’t care that Honeymaren kept trying to swat him away as he moved from her left to right. 'How about now?' was a very important question for him to ask and he would happily take being swatted for each chance to ask it. 

Maybe it would even help them get to his new home sooner!

At Honeymaren's side, Elsa squeaked. Her cheeks puffed with air and her hands rose in clenched fists to her sides. Her eyes darted wildly around.

"KISS THE GIRL!!!!" Hooty prompted. "YOU KNOW YOU WANT TOOOOOOOO!!" 

Honeymaren shot an apologetic look at Elsa. 

"I—" Elsa shook her head. "I can't—"

She turned and ran. 

"Elsa!" Honeymaren called out and stumbled after her, Hooty matching her pace and continuing to sing into her ear. 

"SHA-LA-LA-LA-MY-OH- _HOOT!"_

"Could you _shut up!?"_ Honeymaren screeched and backhanded Hooty away from her. She hadn't meant to hit so hard, but Elsa was running from them, and Honeymaren needed to make sure she was okay. 

And she wasn't even sure Hooty could really feel pain with how quickly he recuperated. He floated to Honeymaren’s other side.

“YOU KNOOOOOOOOOW,” he hooted, “YOU SHOULD PROBABLY KISS HER NOW BEFORE SHE HOOTS TOO FAR AHEAD.”

“Hooty!” Honeymaren exclaimed. Elsa was ahead of them by a number of paces, struggling to drown out Hooty’s constant questions.

Could Hooty shut the hell up about Honeymaren kissing her already??

They were not going to kiss!

Not today!

Not tomorrow!

Not ever!

…Ever?

Elsa's heart sank. 

_No._

_Not ever!_

“NOOOOOOOOW?” Hooty squeaked hopefully.

“Hooty will you just—“ Honeymaren started.

Quickly, the demon floated to her other side and closed his eyes, nodding as if he knew exactly what he was talking about.

And he did.

After all, he was Hooty! Hooty Who Knows All. That was what the people back home called him. 

The people back home who totally very much existed for real and definitely called him that. 

“YUP! YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO KISS HER NOW! BEFORE SHE RUNS OFF INTO THE FOREST WITH A DIFFERENT GIRLFRIEND AND LEAVES YOU FOREVER.”

“Wait, what?” Honeymaren blinked.

“OH HOOT YEAH,” Hooty nodded with certainty.

Hooty swerved his head and body around to face Honeymaren, not bothering to notice if Elsa had gotten much further ahead than them or if she was even still in earshot.

Hooty knew love, of course. The people back home called him: Hooty the Love Exper-hoot! 

Hooty _loved_ love. 

That was why he got so creative and wrote Love is an Open Hoot!

He was _so_ proud of that song.

“IT’S JUST LIKE LUZ AND AMITY. LUZ HAD A CHANCE TO GO HOME. AND AMITY WAS SOOOOOO NERVOUS LUZ WAS GONNA LEAVE HER FOREVER. HER FACE WAS SUUUUUPER RED THAT DAY. I THOUGHT LUZ WAS GONNA CRY. LUZ CRIES A LOT. DO YOU CRY LIKE LUZ, TOO? LUZ GETS SOOOOO EMOTIONAL AND CAN’T HOOT TWO HOOTS TOGETHER EVEN IF SHE TRIED.”

Honeymaren shook her head.

“You have it all wrong, Hooty,” she scoffed. “Elsa _is_ home. She belongs here.”

“WITH YOOOOOOOOOOOOU,” Hooty teased.

“Exactly,” she nodded. A millisecond later, Honeymaren’s eyes widened. “No! Not—not with me. Just… I mean, not _with me_ with me. Just… _with_ me. In a friendly way. Because that’s what we are. Friends.”

“MMMMMHMMMMMMMM,” Hooty hooted with a haunting smirk plastered across his beak. "WELLLLL!!!! SEEING AS YOU TWO NEED TO KISS, I BETTER GIVE YOU SOME PRIIIIIIIIIVACYYYYYYY!!!!" 

Elsa stopped in her tracks and spun on the balls of her feet to face Honeymaren and Hooty. Her hair whipped around the side of her face and her hands were balled into fists. 

Honeymaren had opened her mouth to retort something, but she closed it when Elsa spoke. 

_"No_ one—" Elsa seethed. "—is kissing anyone." 

"But—" Honeymaren added in quickly with only a touch less anger in her tone. "—it _would_ be so appreciated if you did give us privacy anyway." 

Hooty stared at them.

A few seconds passed.

His large, black, soulless eyes blinked once.

Twice.

A smile grew over his face. "YOU WANT ME TO GIVE YOU PRIVACY SO YOU CAN KISSS????" 

"N—no!!!" Elsa yelled. Her face was bright red and she stomped a foot on the ground. "We just want you to go away cause no one knows where you came from and all you've done is annoy us and I don't know about Honey— Honeymaren b-but I n-need a break!" 

* * *

Eda looked down at the table she was sitting at, a cooling cup of coffee in front of her that she hadn’t bothered with drinking. King leaned against her leg, looking glumly at the boarded-up space where Hooty used to be. 

Luz had left the house to go with Amity, saying it was too quiet and lonely, though Eda definitely suspected that ‘going with Amity’ was the real focus. King flicked a bug away from his nose with a groan of annoyance. 

“I never thought I would say this,” King stood up. “But I miss Hooty.” 

“Yeah,” Eda agreed solemnly. “Never thought I’d say that either.” Her head perked up. “Whaddaya say, King, think it’s time to get an owl back?”

“I’d do anything for this to feel like the Owl House again.” King shot up onto his stubby legs and jabbed his hand into the air with a determined flourish. “Let’s go!!”

Eda shot up next to him, grabbing Owlbert. 

King faltered. His hand dropped slightly. “Uhhh, Eda?” he asked with a squeak. “Where would we be going… exactly?”

Eda paused. “You know, I—” she chuckled. “Hadn’t really thought of that. Where did I say I was throwing him off to, this time?”

“You said…” King shrugged. “"Hopefully somewhere he can scar some juveniles for life… Or at least for a few months.” 

Eda facepalmed. “Thanks a lot, earlier me,” she muttered dryly. “Oh well. Seeing as we don’t know where he is… we need to…” she paused. “Well, find him. Easier said than done. _King,_ help me gather ingredients, we’re”—she rubbed her hands together— “making a potion.” 

“Oh boy!!” King squealed in excitement. “What’s it gonna do!? Can I help stir it!?” His eyes widened. “Ohhh, pretty please, can I??” 

Eda shrugged. “Only if you agree that you’re the cutest wittle creature in the Boiling Isl— damn, that kid’s really been rubbing off on me.” 

King crossed his arms over his chest and gave Eda what he probably thought was a menacing glare. In reality, it was just adorable. 

Eda didn’t say so, however. She sighed. “Fine, fine. I could use the extra help anyway. I’m getting _old_ , King, my skills are not what they used to be. And that’s why we’ve got Luz!” 

King followed after her, running as fast as he could to keep up with Eda’s stride. “Hey! HEY! Wait up!”

An hour later, Eda had a purple liquid bubbling in her cauldron, and King was passed out on the couch after having stuffed himself full with some snack he’d found. The potion Eda had crafted was simple, it would show her a view of where Hooty was, and she would be able to find him through there.

He couldn’t have gone far.

Probably.

Her spell shouldn’t have sent him past the Boiling Isles.

She hoped.

“Hey King,” Eda shook the demon awake. “You ready?”

King jumped to his feet. "The King of Demons is _always_ prepared!!" 

Eda rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Just help me out here.”  
King scurried to her side and scrabbled onto a chair to be as close to her level as he could get. King grinned maliciously and rubbed his hands together. “I just can’t wait to see where he ended up this time!!”

Eda sprinkled in the final ingredient, the one that would activate the potion, and waited as the liquid began to shimmer. It would soon show Hooty’s location and some of what was around him. 

Hopefully there was not too much destruction. 

_Though,_ Eda thought, looking at King, _at least_ someone _would enjoy it if there was._

As expected, the liquid stopped bubbling, and smoothed out into a glassy surface. Looking back at Eda was Hooty and… 

Oh.

No.

Eda’s eyes fell on the person’s ears. 

Round. 

“Well,” she commented dryly. “This quest just got a whole lot more difficult.” 

King was looking at the woman who was with Hooty, who’s blonde hair was frizzy, and who had a fearful, annoyed expression on her face. There was a woman standing right beside her with hair in a brunette braid, although it was almost completely undone, and she looked _angry._

They could hear dialogue, though it was faint — “We just want you to go away cause no one knows where you came from and all you've done is annoy us and I don't know about Honey— Honeymaren b-but I n-need a break!" 

Eda’s eyes widened and she turned away from the cauldron and whistled. When she’d pictured ‘destruction’, she’d expected much more ‘buildings falling down and other chaos’ and much less ‘terrified young women who were probably never going to sleep again’. 

“Ohhhh boy,” King chuckled darkly. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes. “That juvenile looks scarred all right.”

“She sure does,” Eda agreed. “What do you say we attempt to help her?” Under her breath, she added, “If we can find her… that is...” 

From the way that King hadn’t stopped smirking — in such a way that King would describe as ‘menacing, terrifying, awful beast’ and Luz would call ‘the cutest thing I’ve ever seen oh my gosh!!! You’re so fubbzy-wubbzy!!’ — Eda could tell that he had something on his mind.

Probably not something good either, but she would hear it out.

“Okay, what’re you thinking,” she deadpanned. “Spit it out.” 

“Don’t you think they could benefit from just a liiiiiitle longer with Hooty?” 

Eda slammed Owlbert on the floor. “No, we’re getting Hooty back, and saving these poor women who have unfortunately been subjected to his horror—”

King looked up at her with sparkling, puppy eyes. “Pweeeeeeeaaase?” 

“Oh, I can’t when you look at me with those— Luz again. King, _no._ We’re finding this owl. Whether we like it or not!” 

“Okay!!!” King stood next to her and thrusted his palm into the air. Eda knew him well enough to know that he was trying to flex his muscles. It didn’t work in the slightest, but at least he looked cute trying. “Let’s do this!!!” 

As soon as the adrenaline wore out, though, they both realized they were far short of a plan. 

“Um, Eda…?” King asked quietly. “How are we going to find where he is?” 

“Well, I was just about to ask you that,” Eda laughed. “Aye, King. I don’t know.” 

“Can’t you use some—” King waved a finger in a circle. “—spell thingy?” 

Eda shrugged. “Doubt it’ll work beyond the Isles.”

“But you could try?” King suggested hopefully. Eda looked down at him and immediately cursed herself for doing so. 

Puppy eyes again. How could she resist?

“Luz always says that you can always keep trying even if things don’t work out immediately,” King continued. 

_Damn it, Luz._ “Okay.” Eda nodded. “I’ll try. I can’t promise much, but maybe there’s a sliver of a chance.” Eda started to cast a spell circle. It was green, a tracking spell. 

At first, it flickered, and King watched in dismay. 

“You really miss him, don’t you?” Eda teased. 

“Well with Luz all up with Amity all the time, and you all up and busy doing ‘Eda things’, only Hooty spends time with me!”

“Aw, King, you really think that?” Eda looked down. The spell circle flickered out. 

That was okay. She could try again, a different time. 

Eda ruffled King’s fur. “I promise I’ll spend more time with you, bud. And you can always ask Luz if she can bring Amity over and then you can have two friends to spend time with! I know they’ll be more than willing. At least Luz would be. And that kid can get Amity to do anything with just the right, starry-eyed look. Ah,” Eda lamented and closed her eyes. “Young love.” 

She exhaled. 

And opened her eyes.

“Well, now that that’s over! Who cares about love when you’ve got magic to spend your days with?” 

“Yeah!!” King agreed. He threw a punch into the air. “Magic for the win!!”

“Let’s try this again, shall we?” Eda looked forward in steely determination. She raised her hand again and traced a circle in the air.

It glowed a dim green. 

Flickered.

And then returned even brighter with a rampant fury. 

King found Eda’s hand and squeezed tightly. 

Thirty seconds later, when they opened their eyes, they were standing in the middle of a beautiful forest. 

"Ah. A _beaautiful_ forest," Eda sighed, peacefully and content. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, her face had stretched into a deep frown.

"I _hate_ beautiful forests." 

* * *

"Yes. A break. That's exactly what we need," Honeymaren agreed in as calm a tone as she could muster. "And we're going to do that right now. Just the two of us. Alone. Without you. Hooty."

She seemed to drag out each sentence as if to emphasize the point to the owl.

Hooty stared blankly.

He blinked once.

Floated still.

Blinked twice.

Seemed to disturbingly scrunch his beak — gross.

Pause.

"HOOTKAY!" he acknowledged all too chipperly. "SO YOU CAN KIIIIIIIIIIIIISS."

He dragged out the word as he slowly slithered backwards, slinking his worm-like body between the trees and through the nearby bushes until he was out of sight.

Hopefully.

Elsa let out a sigh of relief.

Thank the spirits they had the faintest chance to breathe!

"I.... I can't. I just can't," she blurted with exasperation. "That—that thing—he—he just....."

"I know," Honeymaren cut her off.

But it wasn't rushed or impolite.

It was more like....

Like she....

Elsa furrowed her brows.

What was Honeymaren thinking...?

"Just.... Just hear me out. Please," she started.

Elsa took a rather large step back. "Maren...."

"I know what you're going to say. And I know it sounds crazy and uncomfortable—not that—not that this— _this_ is uncomfortable or, or _you're_ uncomfortable.... Be—because you're not. At all. It's just.... The thing is...."

She fumbled over her words miserably.

This wasn't helping at all.

Honeymaren let out a long breath.

"Let me try this again."

_Please do,_ Elsa thought.

Honeymaren clasped her hands together. She didn't dare move closer to Elsa, much as she implied she wanted to. Just.... Something about her face.

Her arm face and her warm eyes and her warm—

_Get a grip, Elsa,_ she scolded herself.

"Hooty is really insistent on this. He hasn't shut up about it the last.... Ugh, I don't even know how long," Honeymaren confessed. "But.... But he seems set on it and he really believes he's right. So maybe.... Maybe if we just...." Pulling in her lips, she adjusted her hands so her fingers intertwined as if to imply....

Wait....

Was she really suggesting...?

Should they really...?

Honey, what the hell??

Almost as if she could read Elsa's horrified expression, before the blonde could utter a single syllable, Honeymaren held up her hands in defense. "We—we don't have to if you really don't want to. Just.... Well.... Maybe we don't even _have_ to. Not really. Just.... Act like we did. Put on a show. Make him think we did. And he'll leave us alone."

That....

That did sound tempting.

Hooty leaving them alone, Elsa meant.

Not to actually think about kissing Honeymaren.

She meant pretending to kiss Honeymaren.

She meant—

Ok she had no idea what the fuck she meant.

Elsa scrunched her nose. She took another step back, though a smaller one that time. She tilted her head in the opposite direction, uncomfortable with meeting Honeymaren's gaze.

Still, Honeymaren wasn't pushing anything on her. She didn't move any closer. She didn't say they _had_ to. She just _suggested_ it. And.... And it wasn't like she'd lie to Elsa. After all, why....

Why would Honeymaren want to kiss Elsa anyway?

She must have wanted to get rid of Hooty just as much as she did.

The sooner, the better.

Maybe....

Maybe she was right.

But then....

Why did it sting?

Why did it hurt to think...?

But maybe it would be better that way.

Elsa didn't want to kiss Honeymaren, anyway.

At least, she didn't think she did.

No.

She _knew_ she didn't want to.

So.... So what could it hurt?

"Ok."

Her response came hoarsely, almost too quietly for Honeymaren to hear.

"What...?"

Her response was utterly confused, as if she....

No.

Not like she was in a dream.

Or a trance.

Honeymaren would never think that of Elsa.

She....

She must not have believed Elsa would give in.

All the more reason to believe Honeymaren wouldn't want to actually go through with it anyway.

But it was just pretend. So....

So Elsa stepped closer. She approached Honeymaren until there was minimal space between them. She lifted her head, removing her gaze from the ground and allowing herself to look into Honeymaren's eyes. She.... She could do this. She could make it believable. She could make it look like she—like they both—

Honeymaren tentatively leaned in, though in a way that was barely noticeable. If Elsa did realize it, it was only because she had been so close to a select few people in the past. But this time....

She gulped.

_Get it together...._

They tilted their heads.

They were so close.

But they were obviously going to miss.

Not like either of them would make a shift last second.

They were so obviously going to—

"Ugh, gross. Young love."

Elsa and Honeymaren whipped their heads around to face where the voice had come from. 

Elsa's nostrils flared, her hands had clenched into fists, and she felt magic surge through her veins. 

She could keep her magic in, though. She could do that much. 

In the near distance, the air glimmered in a faint green. In front of the shimmer, a tall woman with bushy gray hair, a reddish-orange dress with a gem in the center of it stood. Next to her was a small cat-like — though maybe it was more like a dog, really — blueish-gray creature, half of whose head was a skull with no fur covering it. 

Yesterday, the both of them would have thought that they were seeing things. Hallucinating. 

Elsa would have blamed it on sleep deprivation and forced herself to sleep. 

After their past day, though? 

Elsa wasn't sure _anything_ could ever truly surprise her again. 

Honeymaren probably felt the same. 

"Who are you?" the brunette demanded. Her staff had been discarded at her side, but her hand lingered toward it. 

"Honey," the tall woman said, her voice dripping silkily. "I'm the woman of your dreams." 

Honeymaren stepped back in startled confusion. "H— _huh?"_

The tall woman chortled. "Just kidding!" 

The little creature beside her laughed along with her. "Oh, Eda, you totally got her!" 

The tall woman — Eda? — shook her head as she calmed her laughter and swiped away a tear from the corner of her eye. "I'm here for that demon bird son of mine. Any chances one of you knows where he is?" 

"Oh— oh," Elsa stumbled over her words. "Y-yeah," she pointed dumbly in the direction Hooty had gone. "He went that— that way, the last time we saw him—" Her eyes widened. "You— you mean Hooty, right?" 

"That's the demon!" Eda winked and pointed a finger gun at Elsa and Honeymaren.

Elsa laughed nervously. Honeymaren's hand twitched in the direction of her staff.

Eda seemed to pick up on the subtle movements, and awkwardly turned in the direction Elsa had pointed. "Soooooo that way....?" she asked, and whistled.

Honeymaren nodded.

"Okay, then. C'mon King. Let's leave these young women to continue their moment." 

Elsa's eyes widened. "W-wait. I just... I want to know something." 

It had been nagging at her all day. She hadn't really realized that it had been for a while, consumed by the dread that was Hooty's existence, but now that she had, she needed answers. "H-Hooty said that he knows someone named L-Luz. He said that she does— does magic. Is that—" her voice faltered. She took a deep breath. When she spoke up again it was hardly more than a whisper. "Is that true?" 

"Psh, Luz?" Eda flourished her hand in the air. "She's one of the strongest witches I've ever seen."

"Really?" Elsa squeaked. Honeymaren's hand found her shoulder and squeezed. Elsa looked down at her hands, the air around them was sparkling a faint blue. "So there's people like me. Who can do magic." 

She bit her lip. 

She had so many words to say, so many thoughts she'd thought and had yet to think. 

All those years of thinking she was alone... 

And there were people like her somewhere out there.

There were all the words she could have said and yet she could only push out a quiet,"huh."

"Hey, kid," Eda bent over to be at eye-level with Elsa. "You're not alone. You seem strong, powerful. I bet you're brave. I don't know you well but I'm proud of you for that." 

Elsa inhaled and closed her eyes. There were words still on the tip of Eda's tongue, and she didn't know if she could handle hearing them. 

"Let yourself be who you are. It's no fun hiding," she paused for a heartbeat. "I should know." 

Elsa's voice cracked as she tried to respond. "Yeah," she whispered. "Me too."

Eda nodded sternly and turned to Honeymaren. "Same goes for you, kid, okay?"

Honeymaren nodded. Her grip tightened on Elsa's shoulder, but not out of anything negative. No, there was absolutely nothing negative about Honeymaren's hold. It was protective. Strong. Encouraging.

"I'll make sure she never forgets it," she promised with certainty.

"Pheh," Eda scoffed and shook her head, bushy locks flying across. "Nah, nah. I'm talking about both of you. You got that, kid?"

Elsa glanced to Honeymaren from the corner of her eyes. The woman blushed - she actually blushed - which indeed highlighted her freckles. Honeymaren tilted her head in the opposite direction. She pulled in her lips, as if she were trying to hold back more.

Elsa watched her friend carefully. She tried to read in between the lines.

Never hide who you are.

Be proud of yourself.

I'm proud of you.

_I'm proud of you._

Elsa had no idea how much she needed to hear those words all her life.

To really hear them.

She never knew how much Honeymaren might have needed to as well.

The blue glow fainting on her fingertips, almost opaque though not completely, Elsa raised her hand. She moved it across her chest and allowed it to rest delicately on top of Honeymaren's. Her fingers clenched ever so slightly above it.

And then, she wasn't entirely sure — she could have very well been hallucinating at this point - she could have sworn she saw Honeymaren's eyes mist a little.

And admittedly, Elsa's did a little, too.

"Well, alright, that's enough mush for now," Eda decided. She straightened her posture, cracking her back in the process. Letting out a groan of relief, she stretched her arms and flipped her head. "Ah yeah, that feels damn good." Pursing her lips, she placed a hand on her hip and glanced to her right. "Now where is that damn bird? Come on King, let's get Hooty back."

She began walking away, only to stop seconds later when she heard some sort of sniffling. "Hm?" She turned around, "King?"

There, sitting on the ground with his paws to his cheeks and huge, watery eyes, was a whimpering King.

"It.... It's just so beautiful!"

Eda groaned and rolled her eyes. "UGH! Luz really is getting the best of us." Leaning down, she picked the demon up by the collar with her free hand. "Come on, you crybaby."

"I.... I am not a crybaby!" he wailed.

"Daw, you're so cute when you put up a fight," Eda teased.

King sniffed loudly, his congestion echoing through the forest.

"SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!"

As Eda carried King in the direction Hooty supposedly slithered off to, Elsa and Honeymaren were temporarily left on their own once again. Neither of them made any sudden movements nor did they say a thing. Elsa could only feel herself relaxing in the warm embrace of....

Wait, what?

Her eyes fluttered in the direction of Honeymaren's hand.

It was still on her shoulder.

Supportively.

Comfortably.

Like it belonged there.

Wait, what?

Elsa blinked.

She took a moment to mentally re-register that.

Honeymaren's hand remained comfortably on her shoulder.

And....

And Elsa's hand was still on top of hers.

Elsa's eyes briefly darted back and forth between them.

After what seemed like an hour but in reality was a mere few seconds, Elsa quickly pulled her hand off. In the same moment, Honeymaren removed her hand from Elsa's shoulder. The warmth vanished instantly and Elsa felt the overwhelming chill of her powers once again.

But at the same time....

She didn't feel the need to run.

She didn't feel like she needed to say anything.

Actually....

She liked it.

She didn't think she would — the only other person she'd really had any physical contact with was her sister — but somehow....

Was this what it felt like to...?

"Um..."

Honeymaren spoke quietly, almost hesitantly. Elsa managed to allow her gaze to fall on her friend, who was a surprising combination of calm and nervous.

"Should.... Should we follow...?"

"Uh.... Y—yes," Elsa stammered. "We—we should make sure..."

"That Eda finds—"

"And they go—"

"Right."

"Yes."

"So...."

With a silent confirmation, the two of them headed in the same direction. 

"I—" Elsa started, just as Honeymaren did too. 

"I— you go first," Honeymaren waved a hand in Elsa's direction. 

Elsa shook her head. "No, you. It's fine." 

"Oh— oh," Honeymaren giggled nervously. "It's nothing important... just... Look, I know this day was crazy, but it wasn't the worst, right? I- I mean, it was nice working with you... and— and... to have someone else experiencing this madness with me so I know I haven't lost my mind quite yet..." 

Elsa shook her head with a chuckle. "Yeah," she agreed quietly. "I... um, I was just gonna say the same thing really... uh... We could— we should do this more. No, that— that's stupid— I..." 

Honeymaren put her hand back on Elsa's shoulder. Elsa's head shot up at the contact, but when her eyes met Honeymaren's warm, reassuring brown ones, the panic in her chest subsided. 

"I get it," Honeymaren said. "We should do stuff together more." 

"It's nice having a— a— a— _friend!"_ Elsa blurted. A blush rose fast to her cheeks. "I— I've never really had— never mind. Let's just find Hooty and hope that he hasn't cause more chaos, shall we?"

They followed the direction they'd sent Eda in, far enough behind that she couldn't hear them talk and they couldn't hear her, but they could see her.

They hadn't stumbled across Hooty yet, which was only slightly worrisome.

Eda stopped walking.

She glanced in one direction and then the other.

"Hm...." she thought aloud. She rested her staff against her hip. "Where the damn hell is that son of a...?"

She blinked at the sound of buzzing. "Ugh, damn bugs." She attempted to swat it with her staff and knock it out of the way. "Go on you, get outta here!"

"OH BOOOOOOOOOOOY!"

Eda sighed.

"Oh _no..."_

Bursting out from the shadows, Hooty hooted in delight and wrapped his wormy body around Eda and King. Eda's body jerked backwards and King yelped in the owl's grasp.

"Found him," King yipped.

Eda narrowed her gaze. "No shit, King."

"OH YOUU GUYYS HAVE NOOOOO CLUE HOW MUCH I MISSED YOU!!!!"

"Really? Never would've guessed," Eda commented dryly. "Good thing we don't need to breathe or anything."

"DID YOU MISS ME, TOOOOOOOO?" Hooty pried.

"No!" King lied. Eda rolled her eyes.

"Please, you were practically _screaming_ for him to come back."

"What? No I wasn't!"

"'Waaaaa waaaaa oh I'm so lonely without Luz'," Eda mocked in the faintest playful manner, "'it's just me and Hooty. I feel so lost and bored without him. What am I gonna do? I, I just want my friend back!'" She even forced out some fake crying for emphasis. King struggled to wave his furry arms in frustration.

"THE KING OF DEMONS BEGS FOR NO ONE!"

Honeymaren and Elsa stopped a bit short of interrupting the family reunion. That is, if that's what they referred to each other as. "What the—" Elsa blinked.

Honeymaren let out a too-loud snicker that almost sounded more like a snort than anything. As quickly as she could, her hand flew up to cover her mouth. "Wow...." She managed to mutter.

"OH BOOOOOOY! I GET TO GO HOME AGAIN! I FEEL SO LOOOOOOOOVED AND MIIIIIIISED! OH I CAN'T WAIT TO TELL YOU ABOUT ALL MY ADVENTURES HERE! EVERYONE IS SOOOOOOO NICE AND I GOT TO BE A SPIRIT AND THERE'S A TON OF SNOW AND REINDEERS...."

Honeymaren turned to Elsa. "What the hell is he talking about?" she snickered.

"Just leave them be," Elsa said, quietly. She swallowed. "Should we...?"

"Back away slowly and never turn around?" Honeymaren finished for her.

"Yes," Elsa nodded.

"Yeah, let's get the hell out of here."

"Hey, you two," Eda waved her hand in Elsa and Honeymaren's direction just as they started to back away. She motioned with her hand for them to come back.

Elsa looked at Honeymaren with a skeptical glance. Honeymaren returned it, and both of their gazes trailed over to Eda.

Elsa shrugged, took a slow step.

When Honeymaren followed, she quickened her pace.

Eda snickered when they reached her.

And then coughed because of the pressure still around her chest.

"Thanks for— Thanks for dealing with Hooty for the day," she forced out.

"Our— our pleasure?" Honeymaren squeaked.

"Uh.... Hooty...? Uh...y—yeah, we really need to—" Eda started.

He squeezed them harder, as if he were enveloping them in a giant, bone-crushing hug. "I LOVE YOU GUYS."

"Uh-huh. Yeah, us too," Eda said. "Now can we just—"

"WE SHOULD CELEBRATE BY SINGING TOGETHER!"

"We should what now?" Eda blinked.

"Oh titans," King groaned.

"LOVE IS AN OPEN HOOOOOOOOOOT!"

"Ah fudge biscuits," Eda muttered.

"LIFE COULD BE SUCH A HOOT WITH HOOT!"

"Uh huh."

"WITH HOOT!"

"Whatever."

"WITH HOOT!"

"Is he done yet?"

"LOVE IS AN OPEN HOOOOOOOOOT!"

"Ugh," Eda moaned. She glanced in Elsa and Honeymaren's direction. "You two might wanna head home while you can. We're gonna be stuck here a while."

"I MEAN IT'S HOOTY!"

"Are—are you sure...?" Elsa asked, though neither she nor Honeymaren could stop themselves from taking tiny steps backwards. "We could—I mean, we should—"

"MMMMMMM HOOTWHICHES!"

Eda clenched her teeth, tightening her jaw, while King made a gagging noise. "Er, yeah. You dealt with him enough today."

"HOOT! HOOT AGAIN!"

"Well.... If you _really_ insist...." Honeymaren commented.

"OUR MENTAL HOOTNIZATION CAN HAVE BUT ONE HOOTPLANATION!"

"You could always take me with—OW!" King started, but was interrupted by a kick to his behind from Eda.

"HOOTY HOOT WERE JUST MEANT TO _HOOOOOOOOOT_!"

"Go on. Get the hell outta here, you crazy kids," Eda offered.

Elsa smiled. She turned to Honeymaren and motioned her head in the direction they had come from, to silently ask Honeymaren if she was ready to go.

Honeymaren nodded and followed Elsa.

"ONE MORE HOOT!" Hooty howled.

"Do we have to?" Eda mumbled.

"LOVE IS AN OPEN HOOOOOOOOOOT!"

"Yup, here we go," King sighed.

"LOVE IS AN OPEN HOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOT!"

"LIFE COULD BE SUCH A HOOT WITH HOOT!"

"Ugh.... And Eda," the witch reluctantly added.

"WITH HOOT!"

"MYAAAAH? Me, too?" King gasped.

"Yes, King, you, too," Eda nodded.

The demon moped.

"WITH HOOT!"

King sighed. Taking in a long deep breath, he slowly bopped his head back and forth to fake enthusiasm. "With King."

"LOVE IS AN OPEN HOOOOOooooooOOOOOOT."

Hooty wrapped himself around his friends one more time. "HMMMMMMMM," he hummed happily, nuzzling his cheeks in between the two of them. King recoiled with a shiver while Eda simply remained as she was — as if she had a choice.

"I LOVE YOU GUYS," Hooty purred.

"Yeah, yeah, you, too, you big lug," Eda nodded.

Suddenly Hooty's eyes widened.

"OOOOOOOOH THAT REMINDS ME! I MADE A NEW BUG FRIEND NAMED LUG! I WROTE A SONG ABOUT HIM. WANNA HEEEEEEAAAAAAR?"

* * *

"Hey guys, gals and non—" Ryder stopped short, swaying from the momentum as he gaped at Elsa and Honeymaren. "Woah... What happened to _you!?"_

Honeymaren groaned and pushed past him. "Don't ask," she muttered in his ear. 

Ryder gawked, crossed his arms over his chest, tapped his foot on the ground. "You think I'm not gonna ask why you"—he jabbed his finger at Honeymaren— "and you"—he jabbed his finger at Elsa— "look like you just got beat up by fifty-two reindeer." 

Elsa mirrored his position, though her expression was downcast and far less accusatory. "Worse than that." 

Ryder scoffed. "Have you ever been beaten up by fifty-two reindeer??" 

Honeymaren quirked a brow at him. "Have you?"

"Well, no.... but...." 

"My point stands," Honeymaren smirked. "Now if you'll excuse Elsa and me, we have some stuff to talk over." She extended her hand toward Elsa, who tentatively took it. 

“Hey!” Ryder squawked in indignation. He flailed his arms in their direction. “You are _not_ about to leave me here with no explanation as to why you both look — no offense, _awful,_ or what happened between you two that—”

Honeymaren’s glare spurred him to a halt. 

“It’s been a long day,” she hissed. “Don’t push it.”

Ryder grumbled, but let the two pass. He tapped his foot on the ground as he watched, from behind hooded eyes, as they walked away. “But I am getting an explanation later, right!? I don’t want to be kept in the dark!”

Honeymaren rolled her eyes. “Giant worm-bird-thing appeared out of nowhere, held us hostage, and finally got put back where he belonged with—” she waved her hand. “—Eda the Owl Lady, or so she called herself... are you happy yet?” 

“No!! What!? I have no clue what you just said, Mare— _Maren!”_

Honeymaren had taken Elsa’s hand and whisked her away, snickering. “Now that all of that is over, including my brother—” Ryder heard. He had started to take after them, but paused and glowered at them. 

_“Hey!!”_

Rolling her eyes, Honeymaren pulled Elsa a bit further away, creating more distance between them and Ryder. Elsa didn’t fail to notice that Honeymaren wasn’t being pushy in any way. Her grip was light. She wasn’t being forceful in any way. She wasn’t making Elsa do anything against her will. There was every chance for Elsa to pull out of her grip and back away. Just follow her, no words spoken, no questions asked. But….

Elsa’s eyes drifted to their hands.

She….

She didn’t want to let go.

At least…she didn’t think she did.

She would have pulled away already if she really wanted to, right?

So then….

Why?

Once Ryder was completely out of sight — unless he was going to pull an Anna and spy on them, which he probably would — the two of them stopped walking. Elsa didn’t dare raise her eyes to meet Honeymaren’s. She kept her eyes lowered, as if they were on the ground. But all she could focus on were their hands. They—

Wow, Honeymaren was strong.

Not that it meant anything.

Not that Elsa was just suddenly noticing in that moment.

Or that it was a big deal.

It was….

An observation.

Just an observation.

Like how she observed how warm her hand was.

Wait, what?

It was warm?

It felt….

It felt like security.

It felt like comfort.

It felt like acceptance.

It felt like home.

It felt….

Nice.

If nice meant sending her heart speeding at a mile a second.

But also….

Actually nice.

Elsa kept her focus on their hands.

Because they felt nice.

Not at all because she was trying to avoid those warm honey-colored eyes that she knew were fixated on her.

Still, she should move her hand.

Except….

She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to.

Did she?

Maybe she….

No.

This….

This was nice.

“Elsa?”

Honeymaren’s soothing voice filled the air. Any hostility in it from Hooty — or Ryder, for that matter, — was gone completely. Elsa didn’t have to lift her head to see the look Honeymaren was giving her. She could picture it perfectly. Soft eyes. Soft smile. Soft face. Soft…. Honeymaren.

“Hm?”

Elsa’s response came out more like a thought, as if she had been in another world.

Then again, with Hooty it sure as hell felt like she’d been in another world.

But this….

This was different.

A good different.

“Are you ok?” Honeymaren asked.

“I’m fine,” she answered simply.

“Are you sure?”

Her tone wasn’t prying in any way. There was nothing annoyed about it.

Though, now that Elsa came to think of it, she must have been pretty annoying.

The way she’d been freaking out over Hooty.

The way she snapped at everyone.

Her constant dodging.

Her lack of focus.

Not to mention her lack of composure.

Spirits, how frustrating had she been, really?

All because of one damn owl thing?

Ugh, she must have been so terrible to Honeymaren.

“I’m fine,” she repeated removing her hand from the woman’s hold. “Now that we got rid of Hooty.”

“I’ll be fine when I can sleep again,” Honeymaren scoffed.

Elsa forced a nervous laugh at Honeymaren’s attempted joke.

“Anyway….” Honeymaren rubbed the back of her neck. “So…. About what happened back there…”

There was a pause.

Elsa averted her gaze and grasped her hands in front of her.

_It’s ok, Elsa, you got this. Honeymaren is your friend. She’ll understand._

Understand what?

What was there to understand?

Understand that she just happened to get so damn nervous around Honeymaren for no good reason at all?

Understand that she actually did, in fact, think about kissing Honeymaren for a split second?

Understand that she only exploded the way she did because her time with Honeymaren— _training_ with Honeymaren was interrupted by some creepy owl demon?

Understand that she actually considered the possibility of them not being platonic?

Understand that….

That….

“I’m sorry!”

“I’m sorry.”

Their responses came simultaneously, almost in perfect unison. The surprise in their sync caused Elsa’s head to lift, finally allowing herself to look at Honeymaren.

Why the hell did she just do that?

Elsa quickly shook her head, pushing the thought out of her head. “Wait…. Why are you sorry?”

Honeymaren couldn’t help but scoff lightly. “What do you mean why am _I_ sorry? You’re the one who’s the queen of apologies. Of course I’m the one who should be apologizing.”

Elsa puffed out her cheeks. “I do not apologize that much.”

Honeymaren raised an eyebrow doubtfully.

Pursing her lips to form a pout. “What’s your point?”

She heard Honeymaren try and fail to hold back a laugh.

“Maren,” she groaned.

“Ok, that was bad,” Honeymaren admitted. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. Elsa steadily turned her head to face her again, noticing Honeymaren’s shoulders come in awfully close to her cheeks. Almost as if she were hiding something. A…. A smile? Or a…. A blush?

No.

That wasn’t right.

Since when did Honeymaren blush?

Except for before.

When it brought out her adorable freckles.

Wait, what?

_Shutupshutupshutup._

“I just….” Honeymaren paused again. “I wanted to apologize for…. Well, everything. I know how uncomfortable you were back there and I wanted to be able to do more to help but…. I wasn’t much help, was I?”

Elsa sighed. No, she couldn’t have this. The blame absolutely did not fall on Honeymaren. She did nothing but try to help and be a good friend.

“I was the one who wasn’t much help,” Elsa confessed regretfully. “My yelling, my outbursts….”

“Tantrums,” Honeymaren muttered.

Elsa glared at her.

Honeymaren quickly cleared her throat. “S—sorry. You—you were saying?”

She shook her head. “I…I did absolutely nothing to assist the situation. I fought, I dodged, I ran—I _literally_ ran and…. And you were there the entire time.”

“But maybe you wouldn’t have felt that way if I did more to help. Or if I didn’t try to push you in the first place. I just….” Honeymaren’s voice faded.

Elsa sighed.

If she did more to help.

That was full of bs.

She didn't even realize, did she?

"Maren, you—" Elsa cut herself off. Spirits, where to even begin. She bit her lower lip. "When we—with Eda—and—"

Ugh, this wasn't working!

There was definitely a blush on her face now.

Spirits, why was this so difficult?

She took in a sharp breath.

"Maren, you did everything."

Somehow that still didn't feel like enough.

It could have very well been an exaggeration....

How could something as simple as putting her hand on Elsa's shoulder be everything?

But....

But it did mean everything to Elsa.

One small gesture spoke such large volumes.

In her twenty-four years of life she never felt more protected, cared for, seen, and accepted by people.

People who were not just her sister.

Honeymaren did that for her.

Eda did, too, of course.

Except Honeymaren was there.

She was there from day one in the forest.

She continued to be there.

And through that one small gesture, that one promise....

She would _always_ be there.

Somehow Elsa just _knew_.

"Thank you," she managed to whisper.

The color reappeared on Honeymaren's cheeks.

There was a moment of comfortable silence before she spoke softly again, albeit briefly.

“I just….”

She took another pause.

Her lips pulled in.

Her fingers intertwined tightly and then loosened.

They tightened again before she pulled them apart.

She lifted her hands, as if she were trying to say something more.

Elsa tried to stop her eyes from widening as she waited in anticipation.

_You just what? Spit it out, woman!_ She screamed mentally.

“I just….”

She seemed to bite her tongue.

Then she let out a silent breath, as if to speak with defeat.

Like what she was about to say would never be enough.

Or that maybe, just maybe, she wanted to say so much more than that.

“I just really care about you, Elsa.”

Seven little words.

Seven simple, little words.

_I just really care about you, Elsa._

They shouldn’t have had so much gravity to them.

They shouldn’t have meant so much.

They shouldn’t have made Elsa’s heart flutter the way they did.

They shouldn’t have made Elsa feel like….

Like….

But they did.

She did.

She could just melt into Honeymaren right on the spot.

Whether it was for the fleeting moment or for the rest of her life.

She just….

She held in a breath.

Her lips parted slightly, prepared to return the sentiment.

_I just really care about you, too, Honey._

That’s what she wanted to say.

She didn’t bother to correct herself.

No flustering from Honey to Maren to Honeymaren.

No emphasis on Maren shortly after Honey.

No struggling.

No frustrations.

No nerves.

Just….

_I really care about you, too, Honey._

But the words failed to escape her mouth. They felt trapped in her throat, perhaps as if they could not mean nearly as much as Honeymaren’s sentiment did.

Instead she found herself leaning in.

And she pressed her lips softly to Honeymaren’s cheek.

They cam dangerously close to the edge of her lips; Elsa didn’t realize it until she made the contact. A blush crept onto her cheeks and she prepared to apologize once again.

The thing that Hooty had practically been begging them to do the last…however long they were stuck with him for…and Elsa swore up and down they wouldn’t — that they’d _never_ ….

And Elsa actually did it.

But before more than a faint gasp could escape her, Honeymaren tilted her head. There couldn’t have been more than a millimeter of space between them. They were close enough to actually….

But Honeymaren didn’t budge.

She only stared at Elsa’s lips, as if to silently as permission.

And the next thing she knew, Elsa brushed her lips against Honeymaren’s.

Spirits, they were just as soft as everything else that embodied Honeymaren Nattura.

The kiss didn’t last long, no more than a few brief seconds. Yet for both of them, that was all they needed. The smiles that graced their faces when they pulled apart confirmed it.

“HEY WAIT A MINUTE!”

Ryder’s voice echoing through the forest caused the women’s heads to turn. Elsa’s eyes widened and her blush deepened.

Oh shit how much did Ryder see?

Did anyone see?

What if Hooty came back?

Ryder pushed one of the loose tree branches nearby away from his face, approaching the two of them.

“I just realized something!” he gasped.

Elsa and Honeymaren quickly exchanged glances.

Oh no.

What now?

He just realized that they realized what he probably realized all along?

Oh shit now Hooty had gotten into Elsa’s head. What was she even thinking?

Yeah, the nightmares were definitely going to come tonight.

“Were you guys telling me that you actually got to hang out with a real live talking owl and you didn’t even invite me???” he complained.

Elsa immediately felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She exhaled deeply in sync with Honeymaren, who must have had the same thought going through her head.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Ryder? You have no idea what we had to put up with today,” Elsa groaned.

“Yeah. Thank the spirits we’ll never have to deal with Hooty again!” Honeymaren agreed. “I wonder if Eda’s actually happy to have him back. I don’t feel sorry for her at all.”

Elsa let the faintest laugh escape her before she shook her head. “I just feel sorry for the poor saps that have to deal with him now.”

Her perhaps-now-more-than-a-platonic-friend folded her arms and smirked. “I hope Hooty tortures those juveniles for the rest of their lives. Or at least for the next few months.”

* * *

_Tap. Thwink. Thwunk. Tap._

Luz’s eyes snapped open and she stared at the ceiling in frustration. _What’s that noise?_ She thought, grumpily. Whatever it was had woken her from a nice dream, one of her and Amity, sitting in a patch of flowers and having a picnic, and Luz was weaving matching flower crowns for them—

_Thwink. Tap. Thwunk. Clink._ It was the sound of glass ringing, sometimes more pitchy and other times duller. She looked over toward her window, groaned loudly, and buried her face into her pillow.

It was Hooty, rapping on her window. Of course. 

“HOOOOOOOOOT!!! TIME TO GET UP LUUUUUZ!!!! GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS!!!!”

“The day in which you leave me alone?” Luz shot back at him. Her voice light and airy, fake hopefulness mixed with _very real_ annoyance. 

“NOOOOOOOO!!! IT’S HOOTYWEEN!!! HAPPY _HOOTYWEEN!!!!_ WHAT ARE YOUUUU GONNA DRESS UP AS??” 

“A pillow!!! I’m gonna stuff three pillows on my head so that I never have to hear you again—”

“YOU SHOULD DRESS UP AS MY NEEEEW FRIEND!!!! HER NAME IS HONEYMAREN!!! AND I CAN BE ELSA!!!!” 

Annoyed, Luz flips over and sends a glare out her window. Hooty flips his head, obviously attempting a hair flip. 

Also obviously, it doesn’t work without hair.

Luz grimaced. 

“AND WE WOULD LOOK SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD TOGETHER, LUZ!!!”

Luz rolls over until her feet hit the floor.

_Remind me to_ never _leave my window open ever again,_ she thinks to herself, sullenly. 

“DON’T YOU THINK WE WOULD LOOK SOOOOOOOO GOOD TO—”  
Luz slammed the window shut on him and sunk back into bed. 

Man, it was really nice to shut him up. 

_Tap.Tap. Clink. Glunk._

Luz scowled.

Even if it was only temporary. 

Luz ripped the sheets off herself and stormed down the stairs. “EDAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Eda gave Luz an exhausted look. 

No, beyond exhausted. 

“Woah,” Luz exclaimed. “You look tired.”

“What do you want, kid?” Eda groaned. 

“Hooty’s driving me crazy can you please _please_ please _pleeeease_ poof him away somewhere!?? Just for a day. Please. _Please.”_

Eda chuckled. “Been there, done that. You’re a day too late, kid.”

Luz stared at her. “WHAT!?” 

Eda waved her hand at Luz. “Ohhh, long story. You had to be there.”

Luz glared at her. “Well can you get him to shut up _now??”_

“Look, kid…” Eda started, and sighed. “Just take this bell—” she materialized one and handed it to Luz. “—Ring it at him and hope he shuts it. 

“And if he doesn’t…?”

Eda chortled. “And if he doesn’t, you’re screwed! And… scarred for life. Or at least for a few months.”

Luz gawked at Eda for a second before forcing her mouth closed. She pointed in the direction of her room. “Well… then… I’m gonna go… and…”

Eda sipped her coffee. “Try the bell out on our dear friend and see what happens?” she offered. 

Luz grinned awkwardly. “Y-Yeah…” she chuckled. “So… see you later?”

“Define later,” Eda mumbled under her breath. “‘Cause if this works — which it won’t — then that’s in… however long you sleep in for. Titans, I wish I could sleep in. Anywho, if it doesn’t work… that’s probably in about…”

She looked at Luz clamoring back to her room.

“Fifteen seconds.” 

Luz swerved into her room. Hooty was still outside, hooting only slightly quieter and with a slightly wounded tone. 

“Hoot hoot hoot…” 

Luz groaned. “HEY HOOTY!!!” she shouted out her window. “Get a load of _this!!”_

She shoved the bell outside, pushing it as close up to Hooty as she could get it. 

And then she started to ring it. 

Hooty’s head turned toward the sound. The bell had a sharp, almost piercingly crisp tone. It chimed loudly, almost as loudly as Hooty hooted, and Luz winced. But she wanted more sleep.

And she would get that any way she could.

Also because it would be nice for everyone in the Owl House if she could get Hooty to quiet down. 

Hooty’s head tilted back and forth.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

“OHHH BOY LUZ!!!! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!! YOU BROUGHT ME A BEAT FOR ME TO JAM TO!!!”

“HOOTS AND HOOTS OF EVERY AGE, WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO HOOT SOMETHING STRANGE!? HOOT WITH US AND YOU WILL HOOT!!! THIS IS OUR TOWN OF HOOTYWEEN!!! THIS IS HOOTYWEEN!!! THIS IS HOOTYWEEN!!”

Luz clenched her fist around the bell. “NOOOOO!!!” she screamed. “You were supposed to _shut up!!!_ Not get louder!!!”

Eda continued her countdown. 

“Five... four…”

Luz groaned and buried her face in her pillows.

“Three...” 

“EDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” Luz screeched. 

“Two…”

Luz thundered out of her room and ran to Eda, falling at her knees and hugging them. 

Eda smirked at King. “Called it.” 

_“Pleeaase,”_ Luz begged. “Make him stoooppp!!”

“Can’t,” Eda said curtly. 

In the background, a faint but distinct, sharp, and clear hoot was made out.

“HAPPY HOOTYWEEN!!!!!!”

**The End.**

**Author's Note:**

> ravrav this should just go to show that if you ask for a crackfic, you receive a crackfic.
> 
> please stop asking for crackfics.
> 
> seriously please stop asking for crackfics, we spent WAAAAAAAAAY too much time on this.


End file.
